Emergency situation awareness

[roe2ship]

How do you know the OP didn't take care of the victim first, then run to get help? Just because he didn't spell that out, doesn't mean he didn't attend to the hurt man.

 

Give the OP some slack here. His expectations were accurate. He didn't expect them to have medical training, he expected them to CALL the appropriate medical help for assistance. That is NOT asking for too much!!

 

OP, thank you for helping this man in his moment of need. I can imagine it was frustrating to see the "deer in the headlights" look from the crew.

So well said!

[Sauvignon]

It is amazing what one can find on the internet.

 

This photo was taken from more or less exactly where I was standing when the incident occurred. The gentleman was standing near the elevator at the right of the picture. He hit his head on the pillar to the left of that elevator and fell to to floor.

 

 

To pick up on a couple of points made; he remained conscious and he had someone with him who remained at his side while I got help - I have no medical or first aid training so would have been of little use him.

 

To those who have remained ON TOPIC and discussed the reaction and adequacy of the crew. Thank-you, especially those who recognized that all I expected the staff I approached to be able to do was know how to call for assistance and do just that, I did not expect then to become involved in assessing the patient.

 

For those who drifted OFF TOPIC and became experts in what could or should have been done. Thank-you. I strongly disagree though with the opinion that it is not possible to conduct a conversation with many of the waiters and cabin stewards whose first language may not be English.

 

For those who suggested that quite obviously it would have been much better to pick up the phone and dial 911. Thank-you...take a look at the photo (remember this is the perspective I had)...is that your final answer!

[billco]

To pick up on a couple of points made; he remained conscious and he had someone with him who remained at his side while I got help - I have no medical or first aid training so would have been of little use him.

It might have been helpful if you had clarified that in your initial post, rather than saying the passenger "fell to the floor bleeding from the back of his head" and that you "immediately rushed to the International cafe just a few steps away." With everything you have posted, if it were me, I think I would feel the same as you. Thanks.

[dshin00]

OP--what you did was good and Im sure the victim and their companion were thankful of your actions. What I do have to say that as you admittedly stated you are not a first responder and I think possibly your approach may have reflected the response. First and foremost that during any emergency incident the most important thing to do is not panic. If you are reporting a emergency situation be extremely brief and to the point and use language as if you were a six year old. Instead of giving a description of the accident, injuries occurred and where it happened(im assuming)....I would have said, "a gentlemen needs a doctor next to the elevator." Being excited and over-explaining something to a person whom may have a language barrier will give you blank look as they are processing the information that they were given. It takes people whom use English as a second language time to process what is given to them, especially in a emergency such as this.....they recieve english then repeat it in their native language/then process it in their native language/ then take action. Then repeat the steps backwards as they would respond back to you. This takes a minimal amount of time but in a emergency may seem like an eternity. Just using simple wording and being brief may have gotten you a little further and less of a blank stare.

[julia]

Sauvignon:

 

I raise my wine glass to you... I am sure the ailing passenger was grateful for your quick actions.

[5326jan]

Sauvignon, all this just proves the point that no good deed shall go unpunished!:rolleyes:

[DrivesLikeMario]

So well said!

 

Thank you. ;)

[snoodqueen]

Sauvignon - I would have done exactly the same thing you did, and in fact did in a similar situation. Given the option of taking the time to locate a phone, dial 911, wait for someone to answer and play 20 questions or take a few steps to get a real person, I'll go with door no. 2. Even if the crew members did not understand English (which I highly doubt), they should have been able to see your distress. Thank you for being a good person and caring about another human being.

[erewhon]

[quote name=simcoeguy;29753641

No matter where you travel in the world' date=' even of cruise ships, you should make yourself familiar with the phone number for emergency situations. Grab a phone and call for help yourself. 911 is common the world over, but some ships use a different 3 digit number. There are house phones all over the ship; at every bar and yes in every elevator lobby. Often there is no time to find a service staff member that understands our needs.[/quote]

 

911 is not used in every country.

In an emergency we dial 111. ( New Zealand)

[bbum]

High five to the op. Being trained in first aid and CPR, I would have likely tried to administer first aid, and told the other person, the injury, that first aid was being administered and to call 911. That should arm them with all the info the 911 operator would ask. But seeing how the op wasn't trained in first aid they did the right thing. Someone was with the injured person already, and they sought help. All public areas have phones and one would think that asking a ship personal would solve the problem, at least that is what I would think, so I would have reacted the same as the op.

[ONT-CA]

We hope that this thread has taught us how to communicate with the ships medical team when such an occasion arises.

[brfan]

Sauvignon - I would have done exactly the same thing you did, and in fact did in a similar situation. Given the option of taking the time to locate a phone, dial 911, wait for someone to answer and play 20 questions or take a few steps to get a real person, I'll go with door no. 2. Even if the crew members did not understand English (which I highly doubt), they should have been able to see your distress. Thank you for being a good person and caring about another human being.

 

If I were to guess the OP was speaking too fast for the crew members to understand. Plus what she was saying wasn't connected with what they normally hear on a day-to-day basis so they were probably confused. Yes they likely saw her distress, but didn't have a clue why. Now if the OP had spoken slowly, calmly and clearly that there was a passenger injured and could they call for a doctor and they still looked blank, then there is a big problem. But most people tend to speak very fast in an emergency. Also, does the OP have an accent that would make it harder for a non-English speaking person to understand especially if she was speaking very fast?

[ONT-CA]

Sauvignon - ... Given the option of taking the time to locate a phone, dial 911, wait for someone to answer and play 20 questions or take a few steps to get a real person, I'll go with door no. 2. .

 

Any staff that was made to understand the situation would have then gone to a phone and called 911. As to the response, while dinning aboard a ship we heard the PA system announce a code Alpha followed by a table number location. We thought, that can't be far from us. We turned around to find a man on the floor as the medics were entering the dinning room.