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Homelessness
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Judgmental much?!
The person in question needs a warm place to be, not specialist medical help.
What a ridiculous thing to say.
Hypothermia is a medical emergency. That is why people die from it. Generally if someone dies they need medical help and not a hotel. How do I know that this person did not die? They were not there when I got back. They seemed very poorly to me, and that is why I should have taken them to A&E.
I hope someone better than me took them there as I should have done.
How do you know what the "person in question" needs?0 -
Hospital??!! What for?
Do you know how much it costs to keep a person in hospital overnight?!
A person would not be admitted or kept overnight if that was not medically justifed.
If there was a concern that they might be suffering from hypothermia then taking them to hospital would be appropriate.All posts are my personal opinion, not formal advice Always get proper, professional advice (particularly about anything legal!)0 -
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You do realise it is possible to die from hypothermia don't you? Or does it not matter because they are dirty, smelly and you are embarrassed to see them?
The fact remains that hospital is NOT the place unless in medical emergency. If you suspect it is an emergency phone 999 and ask for an ambulance; that is what this service is for. And stay with the person until help arrives.
Being cold (or having a laypersons suspicion of hypothermia) is not enough. (See also below, re: the police.)
Imagine for example going into a hospital A&E and telling the receptionist "I'm here because one day I might cut my finger off."
Or do you think that going into A&E and saying that you think someone has hypothermia is so different?
As Guest101 quite correctly states:
So outside of an emergency (and unless you are qualified to decide what constitutes an emergency) if your concern and desire to help is genuine AND the proposed recipient is willing to accept your offer of help, THEN AND ONLY THEN may you proceed further.A hospital is NOT A HOTEL!
Whether that is via an "outreach type place" as described above; the Police; Church; Social Services; or whatever, you can not unilaterally decide to impose YOUR will upon another person; to interfere.
If the proposed recipient is unwilling to accept your offers of help, the most you can do is to inform the local police regarding this person and state your concerns.
If those concerns include the possibility of hypothermia, tell them this.
Anything more may be considered to be assault or worse; just "because they are dirty, smelly and you are embarrassed to see them" does NOT mean that this person will appreciate your concern.0 -
No it's not a hotel but the op had reason to believe the person was suffering from Hypothermia so a trip to a&e would be warranted.
'Reason to believe' - the reason being it was cold.What a ridiculous thing to say.
Hypothermia is a medical emergency. That is why people die from it. Generally if someone dies they need medical help and not a hotel. How do I know that this person did not die? They were not there when I got back. They seemed very poorly to me, and that is why I should have taken them to A&E.
I hope someone better than me took them there as I should have done.
How do you know what the "person in question" needs?
'suspected hypothermia', you arenot qualified to make such a diagnosis. It's cold, that's the diagnosis you can make. The person was cold. How do you know they had hypothermia?
I don't know what they need, and neither do you. But just because it's cold doesn't mean a hospital is where this person needs to go!A person would not be admitted or kept overnight if that was not medically justifed.
If there was a concern that they might be suffering from hypothermia then taking them to hospital would be appropriate.
No they wouldn't, however the principal being - this person needed a place for the night, and the first port of call should not be a hospital.0 -
'Reason to believe' - the reason being it was cold.
'suspected hypothermia', you arenot qualified to make such a diagnosis. It's cold, that's the diagnosis you can make. The person was cold. How do you know they had hypothermia?
I don't know what they need, and neither do you. But just because it's cold doesn't mean a hospital is where this person needs to go!
No they wouldn't, however the principal being - this person needed a place for the night, and the first port of call should not be a hospital.
What are you the NHS gatekeeper?
You have no idea if the op is clinically trained or not, but sometimes it doesn't take a trained eye to realise someone is unwell.
You have absolutely no idea whatsoever if the person needed medical attention or just a roof over their heads so climb down of that jaded horse and thank the Lord there are still some good people in this world that actually care about others.0 -
The_Last_Username wrote: »The fact remains that hospital is NOT the place unless in medical emergency. If you suspect it is an emergency phone 999 and ask for an ambulance; that is what this service is for. And stay with the person until help arrives.
Being cold (or having a laypersons suspicion of hypothermia) is not enough. (See also below, re: the police.)
Imagine for example going into a hospital A&E and telling the receptionist "I'm here because one day I might cut my finger off."
Or do you think that going into A&E and saying that you think someone has hypothermia is so different?
As Guest101 quite correctly states:
So outside of an emergency (and unless you are qualified to decide what constitutes an emergency) if your concern and desire to help is genuine AND the proposed recipient is willing to accept your offer of help, THEN AND ONLY THEN may you proceed further.
Whether that is via an "outreach type place" as described above; the Police; Church; Social Services; or whatever, you can not unilaterally decide to impose YOUR will upon another person; to interfere.
If the proposed recipient is unwilling to accept your offers of help, the most you can do is to inform the local police regarding this person and state your concerns.
If those concerns include the possibility of hypothermia, tell them this.
Anything more may be considered to be assault or worse; just "because they are dirty, smelly and you are embarrassed to see them" does NOT mean that this person will appreciate your concern.
A&E is entirely the place to go or take someone if hypothermia is suspected, or do only people who have confirmed illnesses have that right?
It's a potential life threatening condition that needs urgent medical attention if it's severe...0 -
I don't know what they need, and neither do you. But just because it's cold doesn't mean a hospital is where this person needs to go!
But in post 9 you said that the person did not need medical help?
You have changed your mind then? Based on what? You have seen them now?
Where did I say that I thought they needed a hospital just because they were cold. Or did I give you other indications of hypothermia to help you with your diagnosis?
No, I am not clinically qualified, and that is why I did not know whether or not they were suffering from hypothermia. That is why I returned because I wasn't sure.
You, on the other hand, seem to have some sort of clinical qualification because you are able to make a judgement on whether a person needs medical attention or not without even seeing them. Without even having described to you why I suspected hypothermia.
Do you realise how much the NHS needs people like you who are able to make such clinical judgements without either seeing the person or having their symptoms described to you? You clearly must have a gift because no one could be that stupid to make a diagnosis or give an opinion without having such a gift.0 -
What are you the NHS gatekeeper?
You have no idea if the op is clinically trained or not, but sometimes it doesn't take a trained eye to realise someone is unwell.
You have absolutely no idea whatsoever if the person needed medical attention or just a roof over their heads so climb down of that jaded horse and thank the Lord there are still some good people in this world that actually care about others.
Apologies, am I not entitled to an opinion on how public funds are used?
No I don't know if the OP is clinically trained, but if they were, it's likely they'd have said so.
No I don't know what they needed, neither does the OP and neither do you.
None of that means a hospital is the place they need to go. FGS it's a hospital, not a walk-in centre, not a hostel and not a bedsit.0
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