. One in five doctors admit they may not offer assistance for fear of being sued

. 21% unsure or wouldn't help someone needing medical attention if off duty

. GP was criticised for failing to help woman, 88, who fell outside his surgery

. Locum Christopher Uwagboe refused to leave office at Stevenage practice

. No legal duty in UK for doctors to help if they come across an accident

 

Doctor: Locum Christopher Uwagboe refused to leave his office at his practice despite an 88-year-old woman collapsing and cutting her head outside

 

One in five British doctors would hesitate or decide not to help if they came across an accident for fear of being sued, a new poll has revealed. According to a survey of almost 350 medics, 21 per cent said they would be unsure or would not go to the aid of someone in need of medical attention if off duty.

 

The research, conducted on an internet discussion site hosted by the British Medical Journal, comes just weeks after a GP was criticised for failing to help an 88-year-old woman who fell and injured herself outside his surgery. Locum Christopher Uwagboe refused to leave his office, at his practice in Stevenage, Hertfordshire, despite Iris Henderson collapsing and cutting her head outside. 

 

She was eventually helped by a passer-by and taken to hospital. There is no legal duty in the UK for doctors to help if they come across an accident, or someone in need of medical attention, although medical authorities say they have a moral obligation to do their best in such circumstances.

 

Caroline Fryar, head of advisory services at the MDU, the body which provides professional insurance for doctors, said medics had an ‘ethical’ rather than a legal obligation to act in times of accident or emergency when off duty. ‘The General Medical Council, in their good practice guidance, sets out that it is a doctor’s duty to offer help if an emergency arises, but also that they should take account of their own safety, competence and availability for other opportunities of care,’ she said. ‘Despite the evidence of this survey, it is not our experience that doctors don’t want to assist (when faced with an accident).

 

‘We provide indemnity for Good Samaritan acts for our members and, at the end of the day, they can only assist within the limits of what they are trained to do. It is rare for doctors to get sued for helping out.’

 

But one lawyer, who posted on the doc2doc forum, said he was ‘astonished’ at the attitude of some senior doctors when it came to helping out in an emergency.The unnamed lawyer, who claimed he had recently given a talk to senior doctors on the legal aspects of emergency care, said: 

. ‘One physician was adamant he would not help in any trauma type situation because he is not trained in trauma care. 

. ‘I countered this by saying that one does not need special knowledge in trauma care because anyone giving first aid (whether doctor, nurse, first aiders) always approaches with the same process – ABC (Airway, Breathing and Circulation).

 

‘The consultant would not have it at all. 

. He said: "What about if I move the unconscious pt (sic) from a burning car and cause (or worsen) a spinal injury".

. ‘My response (as a medical lay man) was quite simply if the car is on fire and the pt is unconscious you either leave them to die in the fire or get them out despite the concomitant risk of making injuries worse. ‘A court will not find against anyone moving the pt where there is no choice. I was pretty astonished at his attitude and also disappointed. ‘We have discussed Good Samaritan acts a number of times but I remain curious about doctors current understanding and approach to such acts.’ 

 

However, others contributing to the discussion said they had ‘some sympathy’ with the consultant’s position. ‘Over recent years the emphasis has been much more on whether certain guidelines have been followed strictly and criticism for only “doing one’s best” has become quite hostile,’ one doctor added.

 

We provide indemnity for Good Samaritan acts for our members and, at the end of the day, they can only assist within the limits of what they are trained to do; Caroline Fryar, Medical Defence Union

 

‘The second factor that has changed is that those in the paramedical team are so much better trained - being the only person on site in the UK is fairly unlikely unless one is also involved in the accident.’

 

Mrs Henderson, a widow, had just got off a bus outside Knebworth and Marymead Medical Practice in Stevenage, Hertfordshire, when she collapsed, cutting her head and injuring her arm on September 18. Passer-by Jane Batchelor found her knocked out and dashed into the practice to ask for help, but said staff were ‘completely uninterested’. When she persisted, locum Christopher Uwagboe was approached, but he refused to leave his office.

 

Staff even declined to supply a blanket or a defibrillator for Mrs Henderson, who has a pacemaker, until an ambulance came around 30 minutes later.

 

The following day, Mrs Batchelor complained to practice manager Kenneth Spooner who told her Dr Uwagboe was not first-aid trained and the surgery had been sued several times for treating people in similar circumstances.

 

By LIZ HULL

 

Source:

DailyMail