When performing first aid, you must never leave a patient until you have passed them off to someone more qualified than yourself.
I think this is bad advice. Sometimes the patient has a small cut. A dab of antiseptic and a plaster and their treated. In a triage situation you might be rushing back and forth between several patients, trying to stem the bleeding until the ambulances arrive.
If you and a friend were out walking, and your friend broke their leg, you might want to attach some sort of crude splint, then leave your friend there as you walk for help. (if you have no phone or no signal)
Then there is “more qualified than yourself”. Does this mean the most qualified person in the world can’t ever pass the patient off to anyone? Even if its just an injury any novice could treat?
In many situations, appearing helping and then wandering off will be strictly better than doing nothing. (an action optimised towards the goal of helping is generally better than the null action)
Helping someone and then abandoning them can be worse than just being a bystander.
I’m sure this is sometimes the case, but its not always the case. I would say its the case <1/2 the time. Mostly trying to help someone should help them.
If you and a friend were out walking, and your friend broke their leg, you might want to attach some sort of crude splint, then leave your friend there as you walk for help. (if you have no phone or no signal)
See my other comment for my more detailed thoughts, but note that wilderness situations are a specific exception to a lot of usual rules about emergency care. (E.g. “Wilderness First Responder” is a specific type of class/certification different from normal first aid, because it deals with unusual situations where rescue is not immediately available.)
I think this is bad advice. Sometimes the patient has a small cut. A dab of antiseptic and a plaster and their treated. In a triage situation you might be rushing back and forth between several patients, trying to stem the bleeding until the ambulances arrive.
If you and a friend were out walking, and your friend broke their leg, you might want to attach some sort of crude splint, then leave your friend there as you walk for help. (if you have no phone or no signal)
Then there is “more qualified than yourself”. Does this mean the most qualified person in the world can’t ever pass the patient off to anyone? Even if its just an injury any novice could treat?
In many situations, appearing helping and then wandering off will be strictly better than doing nothing. (an action optimised towards the goal of helping is generally better than the null action)
I’m sure this is sometimes the case, but its not always the case. I would say its the case <1/2 the time. Mostly trying to help someone should help them.
See my other comment for my more detailed thoughts, but note that wilderness situations are a specific exception to a lot of usual rules about emergency care. (E.g. “Wilderness First Responder” is a specific type of class/certification different from normal first aid, because it deals with unusual situations where rescue is not immediately available.)