Liverpool Care Pathway - The Perils And Dilemna Of Being A First Responder

Fortunately, instinct and training kick in...!

What in the name of heaven is going on...?

The rules for the first responder are to practice to get it right until it becomes second nature. Assess the scene; assess the victim; act fast to save a life.

But now there are other considerations...

Is there a DNACPR advance directive? Is the person elderly; do they appear frail...?

This is Dying Matters –

Dying Matters Chair warns against "false hope" of CPR

Dying Matters Chair Professor Mayur Lakhani has urged doctors to be honest with patients and their loved ones about the limitations of cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR).

Speaking on the Kelly Alexander Show, a popular Canadian podcast, Professor Lakhani, a practising GP of 30 years' standing, said he felt "very strongly" about patients and their families being offered the "false hope" of CPR.

Dr Lakhani said research has shown that when a patient is very elderly or frail the chances of survival or recovery when CPR is administered are "so small as to be discounted and actually could leave someone very damaged".

He advised: "Explain that it would be much better for your mother or your father to have a naturally dignified death because they are a dignified person."

...Then, DO NOT - repeat: DO NOT - attempt CPR.

Success is slim; permit them "a naturally dignified death because they are a dignified person".

Not on your nelly!

This is this is Cornwall –

Catering team leader Ceinwen Morgans started CPR on the 82-year-old within minutes of the arrest, having been trained in first aid just a few weeks earlier.

Mr Ollernshaw said: "I guess I was in the right place at the right time.

"If it had happened somewhere else, who knows what the chances of finding someone who knew what to do would have been. 

"I will be eternally grateful to that young lady and the fact she had completed the first aid course."

Mr Ollernshaw's wife, Sylvia, credited Ms Morgans with saving his life.

"He went straight down and the girl just started resuscitating him immediately until the paramedics came," she said. "She cracked two of his ribs in the process and she had to keep going for a considerable amount of time. It was that which saved his life.

"We have been told that if the waitress hadn't been trained he would have died before the paramedic arrived.

"It was just amazing really, it seemed like it was just instinctive for her which was marvellous."

It was the first time Ms Morgans, from Falmouth, had put her training into practical use since completing the course. She said: "It all just happened so quickly and luckily I knew what to do. Nothing can prepare you for the real thing. I think my adrenalin carried me through and I was able to just get on with it but afterwards it was a little bit traumatising.

"If there hadn't been someone like me there that day then John would have died and his family would have faced Christmas and the new year without him."