How to help if someone seems out of it, whilst keeping yourself safe from harm

We have all seen tricky situations happen or been involved in confrontational situations ourselves, where someone looks like they need help, but we are frightened to get involved because of the aggressive or strange way the person is behaving. This may be caused by the abuse of drugs and alcohol.

Causes of threatening or confrontational behaviours

The person may be behaving strangely for many reasons: they could be angry, high on drugs and alcohol, or suffering from side effects of prescription medication. They could also be suffering from brain trauma, be confused (possibly due to any number of reasons), mentally ill, having a life crisis and could pose a danger to themselves or to you.

It is also possible you have misunderstood the context of the situation and don’t have all the information about it. Perhaps all is not as it seems.

Whatever the cause of confrontational or worrying behaviour, if you feel uncomfortable, stay well back and contact the emergency services and give them all the information you have.

The most important advice is never put yourself at risk and always trust your instincts.

The Law – there are various legalities we are all bound by, to ensure we can give consent – and withdraw consent – if we do not wish to receive help or treatment.

      Consent

• a first aider should ask for consent, prior to giving treatment to a casualty.

• if someone is unconscious – then consent is presumed under common law and the first aider should help them in order to save their life.

Grey Area

Wheter drugs and alcohol are involved or not, consent for treatment can be a grey area. It requires the first aider to decide whether the casualty has sufficient ‘capacity’ to make reasonable decisions. For example, a head injury, intoxication or various medical conditions could mean a casualty is incapable of working out whether they need treatment for their own welfare.

Key Points

A first aider should not impose their will on the individual.

If the individual doesn’t wish to be treated, keep yourself safe, step back and contact the emergency services from a distance, explaining the situation.

You then pass the responsibility onto the ambulance crew, who can arrange to have the patient sectioned under the Mental Health Act, if they believe their refusal to accept treatment might result in death or serious injury.

Your responsibility

There is no legal requirement in the UK to stop and help strangers in the street.

Workplace responsibility

However, there are UK laws with regards to looking after your own and each other’s health and safety whilst in the workplace.

Professional responsibility

Certain professions such as doctors and nurses have a legal duty of care to help in emergency situations.

Reluctance to help

People are often reluctant to help because of concerns they could be sued if they do something wrong. However, no-one in the UK has been successfully sued for trying to ‘do the right thing’ as long as they didn’t step outside of their scope of practice i.e. – no tracheostomy or open heart surgery at the roadside unless you are working as a paramedic and appropriately trained to do it.

A good rule of thumb is to ‘stick to the basics’.

Protection against being sued   

SOCIAL ACTION, RESPONSIBILITY AND HEROISM BILL (SARAH or the Good Samaritan Act) is there to protect people from being sued if they are providing help and acting with good intent.

In Summary

If someone is unconscious – they need your help and should not pose any threat to your safety. You have presumed consent to go ahead and help within the realms of your knowledge and training.

If someone is conscious but you feel uncomfortable helping them (or they do not want your help), contact the emergency services and watch discretely from a safe distance.

Do trust your instincts though and remain wary as all may not be as it seems!

I hope that is helpful and gives useful information to be able to make informed decisions about when and how to help someone in difficult circumstances.

Further information

If you feel a first aid course would benefit your teenager and empower them in tricky situations click here 

First Aid for Life provides this information for guidance and it is not in any way a substitute for medical advice. First Aid for Life is not responsible or liable for any diagnosis made, or actions taken based on this information. It is strongly advised that you attend a First Aid course to understand what to do in a medical emergency.

Author: Emma Hammett