Did the 999 responder act correctly? Very sensitive question

JoW123

The first thing we are all taught when we have Resuscitation training is that you do not put yourself at any risk. For a 67 year old woman to pull a man out of a car on her own would be extremely difficult especially as she could be only 5 foot and he could be over 6 foot and weigh 20 stone!! I am surprised the call handler told her to do this more than once having said that she couldn't. It would be very different if there were plenty of people around who could have worked together to get him out of the car and for this reason I would question the call handlers response. What would have happened if your mum had done as was demanded of her and ended up with a slipped disc or similar injury as a result?? Some people would just have done as they were told with potential consequences to themselves.

belfastgirl23

Please don't ask for the thread to be removed (though you can anonymise it if you like). I found it really useful, I've never had to phone for an ambulance but at least I know now what to expect.

couponqueen123

Georgiegirl256 wrote: »

Why would you find it hard to take someone's pulse?

when i had an appointment the other day in the hospital 3 nurses had to try take my pulse before they asked a passing doctor if i was still alive:eek::rotfl: (i was siting up wide awake and was only there for a baby scan and check ) so some people have low pulses thats what the doc said about me

making it harder to see if someones alive maybe

FBaby

What would have happened if your mum had done as was demanded of her and ended up with a slipped disc or similar injury as a result??

She wasn't asked to lift him up. If he was unconscious, sitting up, then most likely just pushing him to the side he would fallen out of the car. The priority was getting him away from likely fumes.

The point was about trying. Personally, I would much rather cope with a slip disk if the action that led to it meant I had saved a life.

Saying that, it is very easy to say what one would do in such a situation as I know I am one to lose all sense of common sense, but that's why those people are there to give advice.

Georgiegirl256

couponqueen123 wrote: »

when i had an appointment the other day in the hospital 3 nurses had to try take my pulse before they asked a passing doctor if i was still alive:eek::rotfl: (i was siting up wide awake and was only there for a baby scan and check ) so some people have low pulses thats what the doc said about me

making it harder to see if someones alive maybe

I didn't mean that as such, about finding it hard to take a pulse because they couldn't find it, I meant why if you were being told to take someone's pulse in an emergency situation you would find it even hard to attempt to do so.....but, Buzzy has explained the reason why' she squeamish, which is understandable.

They can never find my Mam's pulse in one of her wrists either!

Georgiegirl256

JoW123 wrote: »

The first thing we are all taught when we have Resuscitation training is that you do not put yourself at any risk. For a 67 year old woman to pull a man out of a car on her own would be extremely difficult especially as she could be only 5 foot and he could be over 6 foot and weigh 20 stone!! I am surprised the call handler told her to do this more than once having said that she couldn't.

Exactly. The first thing you are told, "don't put yourself at any risk".

We don't know anything about the OP's Mum's health. She could have had serious health problems in the past or already have back problems. I know the operators have a job to do and a script to read from, but it was unfair to continually ask the OP's Mum, a 67 year old Woman to remove what could have been a big heavy bloke. I understand the operator has a job to do and a script to follow, but abit of common sense should also be applied.

topdaddy_2

FBaby wrote: »

She wasn't asked to lift him up. If he was unconscious, sitting up, then most likely just pushing him to the side he would fallen out of the car. The priority was getting him away from likely fumes.

The point was about trying. Personally, I would much rather cope with a slip disk if the action that led to it meant I had saved a life.

Saying that, it is very easy to say what one would do in such a situation as I know I am one to lose all sense of common sense, but that's why those people are there to give advice.

Still breaking the first rule of firsf aid: dont put your self at risk.

Stephb1986_2

This might be a strange one but the OP didn't say the car was still running we're just assuming he may have gassed himself. The other possibility is that he could of had a heart attack at the wheel? It's not unheard of. It's a shame either way.

I'm an emergency first aider and wouldn't be too sure on attempting to give mouth to mouth to a deceased person if I was 99% sure they were no longer with us. As the OP said rigor mortis had set in so that's pretty certain that the person was deceased surely?

OP I think your parents did well to even approach the car I'm not sure if I seen someone in their car to approach them incase something was wrong. I hope they are both okay and don't have to deal with something so awful again.

Steph x

JoW123

FBaby wrote: »

She wasn't asked to lift him up. If he was unconscious, sitting up, then most likely just pushing him to the side he would fallen out of the car. The priority was getting him away from likely fumes.

The point was about trying. Personally, I would much rather cope with a slip disk if the action that led to it meant I had saved a life.

Saying that, it is very easy to say what one would do in such a situation as I know I am one to lose all sense of common sense, but that's why those people are there to give advice.

Unfortunately in my line of work I've moved a lot of unconscious/dead people and they are extremely difficult to move, far more so than you'd expect. It would have made more sense to open every door in the car to minimise fumes. I take your point about saving his life but I still don't think she should have put herself at that sort of risk.

pogofish

Errata wrote: »

Sounds utterly bizarre, especially since First Responders use cars to get to the scene far more quickly than even an emergency ambulance.

It all depends on where you are - The OP describes a rural location and emergency cover outside urban areas can be stretched very thin indeed these days and not helped when country vehicles get stepped-up to provide urban cover when things are busy there - It could well be that the nearest/only vehicle was a conventional ambulance rather than a first responder.