Question: Have you ever had to help/support someone if you have seen them looking unwell while outside of work e.g seeing someone on the street who is not well?
Yes I have. I was driving with my wife and kids to an party when I spotted a person collapsed on the pavement near the road. No-one else was near them so I stopped to help.
I saw she was having a seizure of some sort so stayed with her until it passed and other came around. we called an ambulance and she was taken to hospital. I then walked onto the party.
My practice nurse and I also ran out to help at an road accident outside the surgery when a motorcyclist and a car collided. We provided first aid and basic resuscitation until the ambulance arrived.
The other times are at parties/ gatherings – when other people find you are a doctor the questions naturally follow.
When I was a brand new Student Nurse, someone was taken ill on a train I was on. Thankfully a doctor got on the next stop so they could take over, and thankfully it appeared to be nothing serious.
I also stopped at a collapsed student when I was on my way to my first year biology exam. She was having a seizure and I waited with her and kept her safe until the ambulance came.
As a qualified nurse, I have come across a man who had a stroke in the hairdressers and a woman who fell down the travelator in Tesco and broke her leg.
Naturally when people find out you’re a nurse, they also ask you about their own medical complaints but I always direct them to their own GP!
I’ve had quite a few experiences over the years.Once I helped a man having an epileptic fit at the theatre – they stopped the play and put the house lights up so we could see.
Another time a patient fell and broke their hip outside the supermarket while I was buying a sandwich there at lunchtime. I stayed with them until the ambulance arrived.
I’ve been called twice to assist people on a planes – one had chest pain and the plane had to be diverted on my say so. The other person had indigestion and the cabin crew gave me a box of medication to use – the only problem was all the labels were in Swedish!
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