> is it the thin end
> of the wedge? Will we be required to breathalyse all drivers attending
after
> road crashes and report them to the Police if they fail?
I learnt very early on in my Emergency Medicine career "ask no questions get
told no lies" about the circumstances of the injury. What caused the injury
and when are the usual limit of the mechanism questions, no who or why. I
don't believe any information I get can be usefully used and relied on by the
Police.
I would also feel very uncomfortable about giving this sort of information
out. The patients' honesty about mechanism is already questionable in these
circumstances. If they know it will be passed on we are even less likely to
get a true account.
I would disagree about the assessment of alcohol consumption in motor vehicle
events. I would support the introduction of a blood alcohol assessment system
in a manner similar to the compulsory sample provision in New South Wales,
Australia. If you are involved in a collision of any sort, the carer must
take a sample of blood for the Police laboratory. Almost without exception,
the patients/public accepted this without question.
We are currently seen as independent of the "State" in terms of crime, its
identification and investigation. I believe that losing this would compromise
our ability to care for the injured.
Darren Walter
SpR Emergency Medicine
Yorkshire Region
UK
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