delboytwo:
i did a first aid appointed persons training once, and there said to me if your out and about do not give first aid as you could be prosecuted for any injuries that may of being coursed by me
As a former Ambulanceman of 15 years i used my knowledge soon after leaving the service with an RTA on the M6 at Hilton Park. However i was concerned that should anything go wrong what legal leg did i have to stand on. This didn’t put me off doing my duty, however i did seek assurances from a colleague later on regarding the legality of actually rendering ambulance aid in any given circumstances that i may be unfortunate to come across, and with him also residing as a magistrate, he informed me that there is actually something called the SAMARITANS LAW, which excludes you from any form of prosecution should anything go wrong. Due to the fact of being in the service i would go through a PP course every five years and be certified to perform ambulance aid at such events, and seeing i had just left then there wouldn’t be any come back. Now as i have been out for 9 years, then the certification no longer stands, but my knowledge does, so i would still do my utmost to help in the situation.
There seems to be a lot of scaremongering about getting sued for giving 1st aid…don’t get hung up on that.
Obviously, in my job, I’ve been in countless situations where I’ve had to give first aid, this ranges from putting on a sticky plaster to full-on CPR. The key to 1st aid is keeping a cool head and thinking about what you’re doing. I’d only take a motorcyclists helmet off if they’d suspended (dead) and I needed to perform CPR. The risk of cervical spine injury is too great to be ■■■■■■■ about trying to make a casualty more comfortable…as someone posted. With conscious casualties, keeping the neck and spine as still as possible is of paramount importance. If they’ve stopped breathing, then you need to act fast, in all honesty, once someone is “suspended” (stopped breathing and no pulse) It’s amazingly difficult to get them started again by CPR alone, what you need to do is keep CPR going until the ambulance crew arrive…if you’re doing a good job, expect the paramedic to tell you keep going whilst they get the kit sorted!
1st aid ain’t rocket science, it’s just common sense, if someone’s bleeding, apply pressure, if the airway is blocked, clear it, if there’s no pulse, CPR it.
If I can try to save a life now, I’ll worry about getting sued later! If you stand by and do nothing, you’re far more likely to be sued for doing nowt!
delboytwo:
i did a first aid appointed persons training once, and there said to me if your out and about do not give first aid as you could be prosecuted for any injuries that may of being coursed by me
As a former Ambulanceman of 15 years i used my knowledge soon after leaving the service with an RTA on the M6 at Hilton Park. However i was concerned that should anything go wrong what legal leg did i have to stand on. This didn’t put me off doing my duty, however i did seek assurances from a colleague later on regarding the legality of actually rendering ambulance aid in any given circumstances that i may be unfortunate to come across, and with him also residing as a magistrate, he informed me that there is actually something called the SAMARITANS LAW, which excludes you from any form of prosecution should anything go wrong. Due to the fact of being in the service i would go through a PP course every five years and be certified to perform ambulance aid at such events, and seeing i had just left then there wouldn’t be any come back. Now as i have been out for 9 years, then the certification no longer stands, but my knowledge does, so i would still do my utmost to help in the situation.
Kim
I would like to say that i was told this at the beginning of the course and as the first aid course was in house for rail track and it only took one day
on a personal note i would try and give help to someone that needs help if i was in that position as there say in an emergency situation you don’t think of what could happen your instinct is to help in the best way you can
I’ve done quite a few first aid courses over the years, although it’s mostly basic.
I believe that the DCPC course is 1-day; on a 1-day course it’s usually limited to:
What not to do, because it makes the situation worse:
Don’t move the casualty unless they’re at risk of further serious injury, in case you cause further problems (e.g. spinal injury)
Don’t give the casualty anything to eat or drink, because if they need an operation, it screws up the anaesthetic
Don’t allow anyone to smoke anywhere near an RTC (obvious when you think about it, but I’m sure that lots of people forget when under stress/shock)
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Simple stuff that is unlikely to be done incorrectly
Apply pressure to a bleed to stop the bleeding
Keep people warm and reassure them to reduce the effect of shock
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and CPR, which, if their pulse/breathing really has stopped, they’re probably going to die and/or have serious brain damage if you don’t intervene anyway, so there’d be little room for someone to claim that you made their situation worse.[/*:m][/list:u]
Personally, I think it’s right that it’s a DCPC module; whether it should be compulsory is another question - perhaps the employer might have a different, more comprehensive, but non-accredited first aid training that they give their drivers. In my case, I’ve already done enough first aid training that it’s unlikely that I’d get much benefit from doing yet another basic 1-day course, so I’d rather do stuff that I’d actually find useful.
Fortunately, I’ve never had the opportunity to use my training directly, as any RTC I’ve seen, the professionals have always been there first (although at one RTC I directed traffic until plod turned up, to allow the paramedics to get on with their job). However, even beyond the realms of serious incidents, first aid training can be useful - the last time I gave blood, both I and one of the other donors started bleeding again after we’d got up. I instinctively applied pressure to stop the bleed, whereas the other guy kept wandering around dripping blood until a nurse came to his aid
the last time was late on New Years Eve about 7 years ago driving down the A68 north of Otterburn I passed a car in ditch and saw what i thought was an arm waving. stopped and found driver trapped in car, ascertained he wasn’t hurt, (whiplash and shock) helped him out called police and ambulance.
the driver said he had finished work in London at 1600 hrs drove up without stopping to get to his parents for Hogmanay took corner to fast skided turned round 3 times and ended in ditch.
called police and ambulance, the plod came to me and asked, or demanded to know,
"What was my part in all this "
to the drivers credit he said I was not involved
the car was a Porsch 2 weeks old and a write off
I also have done emergancy child birth, about 6 weeks premature, unfortuately she died 3 days later in hospital.
as a RAF Medic I attended air accidents but there was not much first aid required
As a soldier, I had annual First Aid training for 12 years.
I also did a First Aid course after leaving the army.
I’ve used it once since then.
An accident on the M62 at the Saddleworth Moor, East bound, about 8 years ago.
I didn’t have to do much, other than to close off lanes 2 and 3 to protect the scene. There were two mashed cars and the driver of one couldn’t move.
I chatted with the driver who couldn’t move until the emergency services arrived ( they were probably grateful for their rescue ), and had another driver who had stopped keep the other accident driver company.
Ref the, If you use first aid, you can be sued.
If that’s true, what exactly is the point of doing any first aid training
After all, it’s not going to be any good to you or anyone else, you can’t use the training in case you get sued!
I’ve done umpteen first aid courses over the years just to keep it up to date, fortunately I’ve never had to put into practice what I learnt. As for firefighting, I did a 4 day course, this was really ‘hands on’. The first day was just classroom stuff, the next 3 days was the real thing, nothing simulated there! One exercise in particular involved getting out of a burning building without B.A., 3rd floor up, ground floor stuffed with burning pallets. It made me look at hazards in the home and work in a totally different light, ie computer under the stairs, failing to unplug electrical items at night, combustables in a vehicle (inc gas cannisters), the list is endless…
), and had another driver who had stopped keep the other accident driver company.