The Incident
Yesterday, around 3pm, I saw a crowd of 10-20people standing around someone. When I looked more closely, I noticed an elderly woman lying on the pavement, with legs elevated by stacks of small boxes. A man, in office attire, was tearing up a white t-shirt into strips, appears to be doing first aid. Another was looking concerned, talking on the phone, probably to emergency services. A woman standing nearby looked scared.
The patient was conscious but did not look well. She was bleeding from somewhere behind her head. There was a trickle of blood on the pavement. Given the uncertainty of neck injury, this looked like a tricky case to treat.
I stood around, taking the situation in. When the medics arrived, I left to go back to work.
A few things to note.
Where head/neck injuries are suspected, the surroundings are safe and help is quick to arrive, just keep the patient still and comfortable, then letting the professionals with proper equipment take over. It's not worth the risk to treat minor external bleeding.
I also wondered if it was really a good idea or necessary to elevate the legs. In this case, I believe that no harm was done.
It was heartwarming to know that people cared, cool to see how first aid could be useful and to be aware of accidents that could happen at anytime.
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