Red Cross Blogs

How first aid hero helped Gumtree casualty

By Mark Cox
August 28, 2009 at 12:02 pm

There was a horrible story in the news this week – a chap in London went to buy a car from someone he’d contacted through the Gumtree website, but was instead ambushed and stabbed through the heart.

As his attackers fled with the money he’d brought, they left the man dying in the street. The news story goes on to explain:

“Thanks to the intervention of a member of the public they ran off. The passer-by then gave first aid until the air ambulance arrived.”

Now, I don’t know the exact circumstances of this scenario, but I’d guess there’s a fair chance this man’s actions helped save the casualty’s life. I say that because frequently, in extreme emergencies, what bystanders really need to do – in the simplest terms –  is keep the casualty alive for those vital few minutes until an ambulance gets there.

So whether it’s performing cardio-pulmonary resuscitation, stemming blood from an injury or even ensuring someone’s airway is open, the main job for the passer-by is to make sure the casualty continues breathing. And in such traumatic circumstances, having a few first aid skills – and the confidence to use them – can make a world of difference.

This shocking story throws into sharp relief the huge potential benefits of having just that little extra bit of knowledge. Faced with a terribly injured casualty in desperate need, the passer-by in London had the confidence and presence of mind to overcome his fears and dive in to help. Would you?

---

Comment (0) »

---

Tags: ambulance, BBC, CAR, Emergencies, England, FACE, First aid, hero, london, News, public, relief, resuscitation, road, shock, trauma, UK, UN

The Red Cross values comments both complimentary and critical. However, we will not tolerate the following: aggressive or personal criticism of the blogger, breach of copyright, obscene, defamatory, profane, sexually oriented, racially offensive or likewise objectionable comments.

This entry was posted on Friday, August 28th, 2009 at 12:02 pm and is filed under First aid. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

---