233063
232902

Canada  

First-aiders can say no

A Canadian Red Cross official says he sympathizes with a Manitoba postal worker who refused to perform CPR on a woman he feared might have overdosed on fentanyl.

"I can't imagine the feeling that he or she was going through, knowing that they could have or wanted to help, yet they were more fearful for themself in that case," said Don Marentette, the agency's director of first-aid programs.

"And I think that's legit. We know it's a legitimate concern, for sure, because fentanyl and drugs like that — carfentanil — are everywhere now."

Winnipeg mail carrier Corey Gallagher discovered a woman, who wasn't breathing, in an apartment lobby while he was delivering mail on Tuesday. A 911 dispatcher put him through to a paramedic, who told him to perform CPR.

Gallagher believed the woman had overdosed and decided not to perform CPR because he was concerned that white powder on her shirt could be fentanyl.

Marentette said questions about what to do in such situations are being asked in first-aid courses offered by the Red Cross. He said instructors have always stressed that safety of the person offering assistance comes first.

If there are concerns about contact with drugs, first responders should wear gloves or an artificial respiration mask, he suggested. There's also the option of just doing chest compressions.

Gavin Hayes, a director with the Canadian arm of the Association of Public Safety Communications Officials, said he probably would have advised caution in a situation where there was white powder on a victim.

"We cannot mandate someone to perform CPR," said Hayes, whose organization represents people in the 911 industry.

Perry Kendall, British Colmbia's provincial health officer, noted that while the drugs are a concern for first responders, he said there have been tens of thousands of overdose reversals in B.C. where no one else on the scene was affected.



More Canada News