Weathermap totally agree. That is the remit of all CC in whichever company.
I watch this thread with some interest but rarely post as I am not BA crew so have little insight into what is going on at BA right now. Ususally I just think "there but for the grace of god go I" in many respects. We also have our own problems coming from the orange house of horrors at LTN as well.
However
Desertia and
A lurker in respect of the above incident your views are both wrong......and both right in some respects.
What qualifies me to say this? I am a working CC member trained to the same standard you guys are. I also hold the following additional qualifications and training:
- RN/RSCN/Emergency Nurse Practioner
- Bsc (HONS) in Professional Practice (nursing)
- Advanced Life Support (ALS) Provider
Part of the manual at my mob (don't know if this applies to BA) is that CC continue resucitation until "qualified help arrives and takes over". You don't get much more qualified than a cardiac surgeon!!
He is trained at least to ALS standards. These standards incorporate being able to reverse the cause of the arrest and there are 8 set down. If he cannot reverse the cause it is reasonable to "call" the arrest after 20 minutes when the protocols have been exhausted because the chances of getting good cerebral function and therefore a good quality of life after this time are remote. This is what would happen in the hospital setting which is where this surgeon works and therefore what he knows. I think this is what
Desertia was refering to if somewhat insensitively.
To stop resucitation is a collective decision led by the most experienced person. If somebody less experienced wishes to carry on for whatever reason this is done until a consensus can be achieved, even in a hospital enviroment.
If I had been the qualified help in this situation I would have wanted to "call" it after 20 minutes because of the knowledge I have which is far above the training provided to CC. However because of my insight into the CC role and training I would have continued to 30 minutes as I know the CC would feel they have to do this and are trained to do so.
The casualty here had a ROSC (return of spontaneous circulation) apparently following extra CPR from the CC.
A Lurker is right. A life was saved.
What quality of life was saved after the brain being starved of oxygen for at least 30 minutes is something that surgeon considered 10 minutes earlier. It is highly likely that person will be in something resembling a vegetative state for their remaining days because the CC ignored his expert advice. Would you want your relative to be in this situation?
IMHO CC should be taught if a appropriatly qualified medical personnel takes over when they have PA'd for this help then they should step back.
The training we get (and I'm not knocking it) should be in the abscence of more qualified personnel.