In-Flight Emergency Doctors Reassured By Medical Defence Union

Main Category: Primary Care / General Practice
Also Included In: Health Insurance / Medical Insurance;  Public Health
Article Date: 20 Feb 2009 - 5:00 PDT

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Doctors called upon to assist with the increasing number of in-flight medical emergencies are being reassured that they can step forward with confidence by the Medical Defence Union (MDU), the UK's leading medical defence organisation. Responding to today's Lancet study of medical incidents on commercial flights1, the MDU reminded doctors that they have an ethical duty to offer assistance in an emergency and reassured its insured members that they have worldwide cover for claims arising from Good Samaritan acts, although the chances of being sued are rare.

Dr Emma Cuzner, MDU medico-legal adviser, said:

"Many of our members have assisted in emergencies on board aircraft in the past. In a recent MDU survey of 127 doctors, over 40 per cent had provided Good Samaritan emergency care more than once in their careers and public transport, including on aeroplanes, was the most common place for an incident to happen, featuring in 91 cases2.

"The Lancet study, which found that medical events are increasingly frequent because a growing number of individuals with pre-existing medical conditions travel by air, suggests that many more doctors will be asked to help out when passengers are taken ill in future. Given this, it is important for doctors to be aware of their legal and ethical position.

"The authors of the Lancet study point out that there is no legal requirement for doctors to volunteer in an emergency in the UK, but doctors have an ethical duty to help. The GMC expects doctors to help in an emergency, wherever it arises, taking account of their own safety, their competence and the availability of other options for care3.

"Our members are sometimes concerned about what help they are expected to offer, especially if they have little equipment, feel out of touch with emergency medicine, or feel their abilities may be impaired for example by tiredness or alcohol. In these circumstances and if no-one more qualified is available to help, doctors should work within the limits of their competence. In our survey, doctors were able to make a real difference to the outcome for patients, for example, doctors were able to stabilise patients until their plane landed.

"Fortunately the chances of a claim against a doctor who steps forward to assist in this way are extremely rare and MDU members with insurance policies are reassured they have worldwide insurance cover for claims arising from Good Samaritan acts. Members can also seek help and advice from the MDU for other medico-legal queries arising from Good Samaritan acts such as police interviews and coroners' inquiries."

1 Medical issues associated with commercial flights, The Lancet, 19 February 2009, http://www.thelancet.com

2 Doctors to the rescue again and again, MDU press release, 2 July 2008, http://www.the-mdu.com

3 GMC Good Medical Practice (2006), paragraph 11, http://www.gmc-uk.org

The MDU is a mutual, not for profit, organisation owned by our members who include over 50 per cent of the UK's hospital doctors and GPs. Established in 1885, we were the world's first medical defence organisation. We defend the professional reputations of our members when their clinical performance is called into question. Our benefits of membership include insurance for claims of clinical negligence and a wide range of medico-legal advisory services.

The Lancet