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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

To think they would have gone and helped him

23 replies

Hopingforthebest54 · 13/01/2021 15:56

These posts on my local community page about a young man who attempted to take his life. He was helped by a member of the public and then they stayed with him while he awaited the police and ambulance services. This happened right near the local GP surgery. Aibu to be shocked that none of the staff from the gp surgery came out to help. Obviously I don’t know the full story as I’ve only seen posts on Facebook about it.

OP posts:

WisestIsShe · 13/01/2021 15:58

YANBU but when my father had a heart attack outside the doctors surgery no one would come out to him. They said wait for the ambulance!

Terracottasaur · 13/01/2021 15:59

What could a GP have done?

Mummydoctor · 13/01/2021 16:00

Maybe you shouldn’t comment if you don’t know the full story? Perhaps the staff at the surgery were busy dealing with their own urgent and routine patients (as they are contracted to do)? Perhaps they were busy arranging covid vaccination clinics? Perhaps if it was a small surgery there was no one free to assist? General practice is not an emergency service despite what people seem to believe.

BashfulClam · 13/01/2021 16:00

They won’t attend. A lady fell right outside our GP surgery, her head was split open and someone went in asking for help and they said as surgery was running they couldn’t leave and an ambulance was needed.

arethereanyleftatall · 13/01/2021 16:03

'Obviously I don't know the whole story'...maybe wait till you do?

ZombeaArthur · 13/01/2021 16:03

Did anyone at the GP surgery even know this was happening?

Original poster

Hopingforthebest54 · 13/01/2021 16:09

Apparently they did a lady has just said she rung the doorbell of the surgery. The receptionist said they couldn’t help. I’m shocked as I would have thought in a emergency a doctor would come and help the poor man.

OP posts:

WorraLiberty · 13/01/2021 16:14

Without the full story I really don't think there's any point to this thread.

There could be a whole myriad of reasons why they didn't or couldn't help.

Mummydoctor · 13/01/2021 16:15

They may not have even been their patient @Hopingforthebest54 and as I said before are not there to respond to emergencies which are occurring anywhere outside the surgery. If they took themselves out to get involved in this situation they could have been there for hours. Who would then be dealing with their patients booked in with them?

3JsMa · 13/01/2021 16:23

The emergency services were called,someone was with the man.
I know it looks a bit heartless but I can't think of anything else GP surgery could do.They were probably very busy and probably relieved that someone helped.

Basecamp65 · 13/01/2021 16:23

GP's do not know much about responding to emergencies that require an ambulance.

I used to work for a medical charity and gave a presentation at an event for 100+ GP's in London - the Ambulance service did as well on CRP and using Defibs virtually all the GP's said they had never had to do either in their careers and had forgotten how.

Imiss2019 · 13/01/2021 16:27

I remember needing to call an ambulance for a young boy having a seizure. Someone ran and brought the GP over who albeit very nice wasn’t able to do anymore than the rest of us and seemed rather like a rabbit in the headlights!

WhereverIGoddamnLike · 13/01/2021 16:37

For starters, if a GP treats a patient who isnt actually their patient then they risk all sorts if legal repercussions. It's not fair and it's not right, but they be risking their job if they help and something goes wrong and they get sued.

The GP wont always have the equipment needed for emergency procedures and wont have had to perform any since their time as junior doctors still in training.

The GPs might not have even been told if the reception staff chose not to tell them. I remember a horrible sad story from a few years back. A father was in the waiting room of the GP surgery with his little daughter waiting for their emergency appointment. They still had time to wait and the GP was running behind. He could see his daughter was getting worse, but the reception told him to sit down and wait, saying she was fine. Her lips turned blue and he got up shouting for help, tthe reception threatened to call the police if he didnt wait quietly. Eventually a GP heard him shouting and came out, saw the girl, grabbed her and called the other doctors. They did all they could but she died. The father issues a statement afterwards explaining the way the receptionist behaved and said that one of the GPs refused to stop working on the girl after the others had said she was gone becaus he was so angry that they hadnt been told sooner. It was horrible... and it was just a receptionist on a power trip making medical decision she was boy qualified to make.

In this case, what could a GP do for someone they know nothing about? The guy was off the ledge, not in immediate danger of jumping and was waiting for an ambulance to take him to a crisis team. What could the GP do?

Original poster

Hopingforthebest54 · 13/01/2021 18:03

Oh I didn’t know that they could get into trouble for treating a patient that wasn’t theirs. The method wasn’t a ledge I’m not going to say what the page says it was as I don’t think it’s appropriate.

OP posts:

OrangePlumGrape · 13/01/2021 18:06

I thought if you were medical and witnessed a road accident or something like that you were obliged to pull over and help or is that a bit of an urban myth?

FellowFlipFlop · 13/01/2021 18:10

So has all your info come from Facebook? You weren't there, you don't know the guy, you're not a Dr, you don't work for the surgery? How far away did it happen? Outside the front door? Across the road? 5 minutes away?

What actually is the point of this thread?

Iheartsheep · 13/01/2021 18:13

I witnessed a young girl collapse in the doctors waiting room. I administered first aid and a doctor came and 'helped' around 5 mins later once she was conscious and we had sorted it.

DuzzyFuck · 13/01/2021 18:15

I imagine there might be insurance issues? Not quite the same but when I worked in a bar the bouncers were not allowed to intervene in anything that was not actually on the premises, even if it were right outside the door.

They did make an exception once, when a young girl was getting a real kicking across the road; all agreed they'd take the disciplinary for it (if necessary).

Original poster

Hopingforthebest54 · 13/01/2021 18:18

From what I’ve read it happened behind the surgery car park. You would be able to see the area as you were turning into the carpark. So not exactly on their grounds but very close to the surgery.

OP posts:

DanceForMeColin · 13/01/2021 18:22

I saw an old man trip and fall coming out of a doctors surgery as I was driving past. I stopped to help him as he was bleeding from his head and was confused and nobody seemed to be around.
I went into the surgery to get help and the receptionist told me to call an ambulance even though he was literally one step outside and had obviously just attended an appointment there. I brought the man in to sit down on their chairs rather than leave him on their pavement, the receptionist then grudgingly sent a doctor down. I was fairly pissed off with their attitude considering we live an hour away from the nearest hospital.

WorraLiberty · 13/01/2021 18:38

@Hopingforthebest54

How could it be any less appropriate than starting this thread?

Besides, if for example he'd slit his wrists, that would quite obviously explain why the staff didn't help incase he still had the knife on him.

DumplingsAndStew · 13/01/2021 18:45

@OrangePlumGrape

I thought if you were medical and witnessed a road accident or something like that you were obliged to pull over and help or is that a bit of an urban myth?

There is no legal obligation to provide emergency care if you are trained to do so, no.

I am a certified First Responder and asked this question during training.

Original poster

Hopingforthebest54 · 13/01/2021 19:14

No he hasn’t done anything like that. What happened would only have impacted him but then like I said I obviously don’t know the mans history. I just felt sad for him that he felt like that. It’s a small village so it is likely that the surgery is where he is a patient.

OP posts:

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