(21 August 2013, 17:19)Bonnox Wrote: Just posted something in the first aid section but thought I would pose something similar here for opinions,
It's regarding a mass casualty event, if you came across strangers who say had had a bus crash and a dozen or so people were injured, would you stop and help ?
Back in my days as a Coast Guard EMT, I had no choice but to stop and help. First, USCG regs said I had to, and second, state law said I had to. Not stopping was prima facia evidence of gross negligence, and I could (and would) have been sued for everything I owned. Now that I am a civilian with an expired license, I have more of a choice, but I still carry a med bag in my car and I will stop and render aid.
But let's follow your scenario a bit further...
Quote:My points/thoughts are
1: using your first aid kit is just that its using your supplies, things you may need but once their gone you may not be able to restock for a long time.
This depends on the "supplies" in question. My knowledge and skills, my stethoscope, BP cuff, oropharyngeal airways, and instruments won't require resupply, unless I leave a hemostat in a patient. Triangular bandages are easily made from any fabric so resupply won't be a huge problem. Sterile compression bandages, on the other hand, will be hard to come by, so I'd probably use whatever is available at the scene to stop the patient's bleeding, like his own shirt.
Quote:2: could you leave someone to die ?
Today, no! I'd do what I could and wait for the ambulance. After SHTF I'll be triaging people in reverse - people who can survive will get help, the ones that need more advanced care than I can provide will be comforted if possible, but I won't expend rare and hard-to-get supplies on them. Will I be "playing God"? Yes! Do I want to? No!
Quote:And what if it was family ? How far would you go knowing it may have serious consequences to your own survival ? Eg: 86 year old Aunty Ethal falls and breaks her hip, now she can't walk, if your on the move it would take two people to carry a stretcher, then there would be food to keep her going for little repayment (everyone has a job post shtf in my view be it washing hunting cooking etc)
Now I'm not advocating Aunty Ethal gets a shovel to the head
But it is something to think about and consider
A "broken hip" (actually a fracture of the femur at the proximal end where the "ball" fits into the pelvic "socket") is only treatable by an experienced orthopaedic surgeon with a fully staffed operating room, anesthesiologist, and a replacement prosthetic "ball" to fit into the hip joint. This is way beyond the capabilities of the majority of MDs, much less us paramedics. What can be done for "Aunty Ethal" is for her leg to be put into a traction splint to reduce the pain, and to be given such pain-killing drugs as are available. The traction splint will not be buried with "Aunty", so there's no loss of resources there, and in lieu of opiate drugs (which will probably be be irreplaceable at that point), whiskey and/or cannabis can be provided to ease her pain. The family would provide good nursing care, preventing bed sores and keeping "Aunty" clean, as much as possible given the conditions. "Aunty Ethal", being bedridden in this situation, would probably succumb to pneumonia in two weeks or so, so no shovel to the head would be required. And no, we wouldn't leave our great aunt lying in the woods where she fell...
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