Saint Lucia Fire Service (SLFS) Press Officer, Sherise John, is urging citizens who are untrained in CPR and EMT services to avoid interfering with injured persons.
John makes this appeal as the country is seeing a record-number of road incidents, stretching Fire Service resources.
Video recordings of accident scenes going viral on social media platforms often depict bystanders touching and shifting injured persons.
“Throughout the year, we have seen an increase in emergency calls, mainly motor vehicular collisions, and we have also seen videos of the public assisting in that regard. And whilst it may seem like a good thing, most times if you are not trained or you don’t know the proper techniques in removing persons or assisting them, you may cause more harm than good,” warned the Fire Service Press Officer.
John also discourages giving injured persons water as this may cause additional harm,
“We sometimes see persons giving water to persons. We ask that you refrain from doing so as you may cause more harm than good.”
John advises citizens to take proactive measures to assist injured people by contacting the fire service rather than capturing the incident on video. “My advice to the public would be, if you see an incident and you don’t know what to do, the first thing should be to not record, but to call the Fire Service,” she said.
John adds that once contact is made, the operator will be able to guide the caller on the next best steps. “You seek advice, they may be able to assist you or to advise you on what to do and what not to do.”
So far this year, the SLFS has transported over 1000 individuals to medical facilities after responding to road incidents in various parts of the country.
Photo: Members of the public at the scene of a shooting at Belair, Castries this week.
