Just witnessed a crash

[getmeacupoftea]

I just witnessed a crash in a tesco car park. A big range rover lost control and sped into a bollard and completely messed up this other car. The bonnet of the Range Rover was crumpled up and hissing. All very scary, and very lucky that no one was walking in the way. I ran over, as did other people. I noticed no one had their phones out so I dialed 999, asked for an paramedic. Theres this lady talking to the passenger and driver. She then turns to me, starts shouting at me in front of a crowd of people "cancel the ambulance! They dont need one! I'm a doctor! You dont know what's best" I'm trying to cancel the ambulance on the phone with the operator, and this doctor is shouting at me still. She says "give it here, I'll talk to them" and snatches my phone off me. I can appreciate that it's a high stress situation and of course must have been terrifying for the couple in the car. Maybe I feel a bit emotional because I walking just metres away with my baby in her pram, but for some reason the lady shouting at me and the way she was speaking to me as really upset me. Currently sniffling in an M and S cafe. Pathetic, I'm not the victim at all, I know . Did I do the right thing in dialling emergency services? I feel like an idiot now

I think you did the right thing, that doctor was bloody rude. I'm guessing this thread will attract the competitive I didn't even call an ambulance when I was haemoraging all over the place types.

The human brain doesn't tend to do cool, calculated assessments of every factor in a situation when it's in shock/a threat state. Posters suggesting the op could and should have done that sound ridiculous.

I'm another one saying you did the right thing, op.
It's not up to the lay person to 'assess' what's needed
the emergency operators/services do that job.
Obviously the doctor didn't have time to assess either,
it sounds like her assessment was based on a knee jerk reaction..

I don't think you did anything wrong. Just because the people look injured it doesn't mean they are fine. You see people walking away from a crash and then dying hours later.

The woman shouting had no right to cancel the ambulance. You are better to have professionals at the scene to manage it. Did she check the people or have any medical equipment with her? It's always best to checked over after an accident incase there are internal injuries from seat belts and air bags or head and neck injuries. Also if one of passengers has a medical condition like osteoporosis or an issue with clotting etc then they need help. Mrs Doctor doesn't have that info. She probably wanted to be a hero.

Also sitting crying is perfectly normal after a shock. DH took few days to get over the crash he witnessed. It was a fatal one.

I meant doesn't look injured.

there are now 2 ambulances and a first responder on scene.

You posted this thread while you were still at the scene and then hung around for an hour to watch?! That's a bit weird.

I'd have hoped a doctor would remain calm under pressure

Depends on the doctor. If they're not trained/experienced in accidents, then they can be as flustered/stressed as any random person.

Reallybadidea - the OP says (in her first post) that she is sitting in a cafe calming down. So not weird at all.

So she went back for another look? Even stranger.

How many supermarkets do you go to that it wouldn't be obvious theres ambulances etc there?!

@reallybadidea
Left the supermarket cafe and headed back to her car in the same car park as the accident?

Sounds like the Doctor made the wrong call and delayed their medical attention. You did the right thing. Shame she struggled to remain calm after the accident.

@Reallybadidea

I dont know why you feel the need to be snidy. I was parked up in a Tesco superstore when the accident happened. I went to a cafe around the corner as I was a little shaky, then headed back to my car, and subsequently, walking past the scene again. Was just updating that everyone was okay.

@poissonpoison
It's a superstore car park, the ground parking area in which the accident took place is covered, as there multiple floors.

@Reallybadidea how on earth is it convenient. Something really horrible and quite frightening happened today. Please leave this thread.

@getmeacupoftea if it makes you feel any better, a paramedic once told me that they hate it when doctors are first on scene as they try to do fancy stuff instead of basic first aid and cause more trouble than it's worth! They much prefer first aiders or nurses.

I don't think you didbthe right thing tbh because you didn't have any information about what emergency services were needed or whether or not anyone was injured. You should have perhaps asked someone involved if they wanted an ambulance and what was wrong with them so that you could at least have had a useful conversation with the dispatcher and they could prioritise the call based on what the injuries (if any) were. You weren't in a position to do that because you didn't have enough information. It was kind of you to try to help but it wasn't quite the right thing to do in this scenario, however, no harm done as the dr was able to speak to the dispatcher anyway.

The people involved in an accident are not always the best judges of whether they need an ambulance or first responder. After I was in an accident I was absolutely insistent I was fine and was trying to get up and walk around - thankfully passers by refused to let me. I have no recollection of this because I had concussion and was in shock, and was clearly in no state to make good decisions.

I doubt the woman was a doctor - probably just a fantastist. I can't think of a situation when a doctor would dissuade someone from calling an ambulance. Surely she wouldn't have been equipped or insured to deal with everything herself beyond basic first aid anyway?

Well I'm a doctor and I wouldn't be so arrogant as to decide that the emergency services are not needed at an accident. Or so stupid in fact. The potential impact of getting something wrong in such circumstances is huge, to yourself as well as the injured parties.
I have been qualified for over 30 years and have worked for most of that time in critical care. I have a huge amount of experience of dealing with seriously sick and injured people, but in a hospital setting with a full team of other people, monitors, equipment, almost instant access to imaging and other tests, NOT in a carpark on my own with no equipment. In such circumstances I wouldn't have much more to offer than a first aider other than my ability to stay calm in horrendous situation and to communicate with the emergency services in technical language. When I have stopped at accidents etc in the past I think the most useful thing I have done is stop other people doing potentially harmful things whilst we wait for the ambulance. Paramedics are much more used to dealing with this kind of thing and are the experts in such situations, plus of course ambulances are very well equipped nowadays.
My indemnity covers me for "good samaritan" acts outside of work and most doctors will be in the same position but we would be very much held to account for our actions in such circumstances, particularly if we were deemed to be acting outside our competencies. Unless you are a doctor who regularly attends out of hospital incidents and are trained to do so, you are much better off leaving decisions to those who are the real professionals in those conditions. And even then, unless you happen to have all your kit with you, you would be very limited. Given the reported lack of calm on the part ofthis doctor I think it is very unlikely that she is experienced in emergency care, never mind out of hospital trauma care so she was really exposing herself by making that decision.
It is very difficult to make accurate assessments immediately after an accident. I have first hand experience of this as I have been involved in a serious RTC. I extricated myself from my car and set off to help the lad who had hit me. Nobody, including me, thought I had any significant injuries but the paramedics persuaded me to let them take me to A&E to be on the safe side. Which was handy, because that's where they found my life threatening internal injuries. If some passing doctor had said I didn't need an ambulance then I doubt I would be here now.
Which is a very long winded way of saying that doctors should stick to their sphere of expertise and that you did the right thing OP.

It is also possible that the driver of the land rover (unless it was this 'dr') had had a medical emergency that caused them to lose control.

You definitely did the right thing.

Calling the emergency services was probably the right thing to do as it sounds like either the driver was seriously unwell, or possibly drunk or on drugs to cause such a serious crash in a situation where no-one should have been driving at more than about 10 MPH.

To be honest, you don’t know for certain that this woman was genuinely a doctor anyway. While she probably was, there are crazies out there that love to act out their fantasies in situations like this. I have heard of this happening during medical emergencies on planes, etc... I’m pleased that ambulances turned up.

Also, even if she was a doctor, how many people were involved in the accident? Just one? More than one? What if they went into shock? She can’t handle more than one patient at a time. That alone has potential for serious medical emergencies! Was she alone? Did she have kids there? So many questions!!!