CPR

[Jamiek80]

Interested in opinions it seems women are less likely to be given CPR as men fear accusations of sexual assault. I'm a little skeptical as it was in the Mail but I remember from my first aid training about warnings of law suits. I'm sure this won't go well but will the current climate of sexual harassment have a negative effect long term?

I would have thought not knowing how to do it would be the biggest issue. Was the article based on any research?

Give over

Sounds completely made up to me, and like it might be part of the Mail's (and various other media outlets') backlash against #metoo. I can't imagine a situation where CPR on someone who's collapsed unconscious could possibly be mistaken for sexual harrassment.

I was told this in my first aid training too - if you are removing thick clothing etc, looking for the chest to rise and fall, it could be misconstrued by ridiculous passers by.

The same reason most blokes on their own wouldn't go to the aid of a crying child.

CPR frequently doesn't work anyway so I wouldn't worry about it too much...

This was reported in non-DM media too! The research was published in a US cardiology journal, commissioned by heart health organisations. Fewer women survive cardiac arrest occurring in public places (so no medics - CPR performed by bystanders).

Sadly some people do think like this (but I agree this is likely to be part of the backlash)
Many years ago a teacher (Union Rep) challenged me in public when I advised colleagues about how to put a child subject to collapsing into the recovery position. He warned everybody that they were likely to be on the receiving end of allegations of inappropriate touching. I suggested that they might face more serious charges if they stood by and said child choked on their tongue because they refused to administer appropriate help.
Sadly twattery is everywhere.

I’m a st john ambulance member and I’ve seen men be told several times that if you’re performing CPR etc on a woman ask someone to watch you to make sure nothing inappropriate etc happens. Sad, but much better than the alternative of women not speaking up about sexual abuse.

Here, if Guardian is more palatable as a news source (although it's pushing it in some respects lately...)

www.theguardian.com/world/2017/nov/12/cpr-gender-women-men-bystanders-study

Unless this article is made up (which of course it might be) then it is not made up. It doesn’t remotely surprise me that people would have concerns.

Xpost with a few of you. I also advise people to loudly state what they doing in case things are misconstrued. We should not belittle people’s fears on this one, rather should be taking steps to allay those fears. Assuming we want any CPR when we collapse of course.

A scene of a man leaning down, undressing a women and having his head close to her chest to assess breathing and sons of life absolutely could arouse suspicion. People will think the worst of anything.

Absolutely there are parallels with people approaching upset / injured children.

It's an American study apparently and rings true due to many of th le things I've been told during various training myself.

On a vaguely related note, I think there should be CPR dummies with breasts, because I imagine it requires slightly different hand placement, especially in large breasted women.

(I’ve asked a few instructors about doing cpr in women, most don’t have an answer, one said that breasts flop to the side when lying down, which isn’t true if you’re in a bra, and one told me to look inside a woman’s bra before doing CPR in case she had hypodermic needles hidden in there?!)

On an even more vaguely related note, you are meant to remove underwire bras before using an AED... Definitely room for misunderstanding there...

So because men rape millions of women every year, other men let women who need CPR die? Wow. Men are really not up to much eh

I believe that most people’s biggest fear with regard to administering CPR is a reluctance to perform mouth to mouth.

Mouth to mouth doesn’t actually confer significant benefit in a witnessed arrest, where the casualty usually has adequate oxygen on board prior to their collapse

The British Heart Foundation is strongly pushing chest compressions only. They can be performed on fully dressed individuals so sex/gender is irrelevant. The outcomes are the Same, but people are more likely to attempt cpr if they only have to perform chest compressions.

Watch the Vinnie Jones sovereign videos on you tube if you want to know how

And yes, CPR does work.
It virtually never ' revives' people - that's not the purpose. The purpose is to keep someone alive until paramedics/defibs arrive.

MrsFionaCharming size of breasts and bras is irrelevant. Please don’t be put off.

The theory is to maintain circulation by pressing in the centre of the chest, and depressing the chest cavity by 1 to 2 inches.

And if some men are too stupid to give women CPR, us women need to all learn how to do it for each other!

My late uncle worked for a small metropolitan children's charity and told me that he wasn't able to pick up and dust off a child who'd fallen and grazed their knee etc for similar reasons. I also have a female teacher friend with a student prone to wetting herself and she isn't allowed to help her dress - has to
stand in the doorway with door half open and let the child dress herself.

I don't see an easy solution aside from some manner of video monitoring.

I find it hard to believe somebody would be charged with sexual assault for trying to help an unconscious person, but I guess it's possible.

I remember somebody telling me about a case where a girl was trying to sue her rescuer who had inadvertently touched her whilst saving her from drowning, although it may well have just been opportunism.

What a sorry state of affairs.

I'm sure there are men who would take full advantage.

Im.also sure there are probably women who would kick up a fuss about being touched when it was innocent.

Don't think the answer is to just do nothing though.

I guess being female I've got it a bit easier. I've had to help a few people over the years. Not cpr thank God but when dealing with emergencies you really don't stop and think about where your hands are.

I do think it's very sad that men would actively not do anything rather than risk accusations. I'd have to be alive to accuse you after all.

Maybe this is where performance parenting style action comes in.

"Hi I'm giles I'm just going to do X" that way anyone around you kinda knows what and why you are doing what you are doing?

Meant to say im also sure the majority of men would not do anything.

I've met a few male paramedics for example and they don't bat an eye lid at what parts of the body they see when dealing with the patients...

And yes, CPR does work

In the UK fewer than 10% of all the people in whom a resuscitation attempt is made outside hospital survive. Improving this figure is a major priority for the RC (UK), the Department of Health, ambulance services and voluntary aid organisations

www.resus.org.uk/faqs/faqs-cpr/

An ordinary member of the public should NEVER attempt CPR on anyone, regardless of gender, unless specifically asked to do so by someone who is trained - until the ambulance arrives. If you have been trained to do so, always have someone else to take over, because it's bloody hard work to try to restart a heart and you will break a few ribs in the process. A heart is a heart.

So yes OP, give over.