Fearless CPR: Seeing the Person, Not the Parts

Are the odds of life in your favour? If you are a Singaporean, you have a good chance of living till the age of 83.6 years. There is also a 1 in 3 chance that cancer, heart disease or stroke ends up being your likely cause of death. Within this statistic, if you were to suffer a sudden cardiac arrest, your chances of survival are a mere 25.9%.

As a bone marrow cancer survivor who also lives to tell the tale of coming back from five sudden cardiac arrests, Grace Yeo is living against the odds.

The first time Grace, vice chairman of HUG Community Services, suffered a cardiac arrest, she was only 20 years old. She would love to thank her unknown saviour at the swimming pool that day.

For all the other cardiac arrests, Grace is forever grateful for her colleague cum mentor, Jeffrey, who has saved her from death each time it happened.

When Jeffrey saved Grace from her second sudden cardiac arrest, she was in his car. Grace recounted that she was feeling very, very tired, so she closed her eyes to rest. The next thing she knew was seeing Jeffrey panicking and his head full of sweat. She did not realise that she had collapsed.

Jeffrey recalled the experience, “When I looked at her and her face was all pale, cold sweat on her body, no pulse, I was totally lost on what I should do at that present moment. I wondered what to say to her parents if she were to die in my car.” In the brief moment before starting CPR on Grace, fears of being accused of molest or being sued for injury flitted through his mind.

But he told himself to focus on saving her life as time was of the essence. To him, “what was important was to save her first”. He would deal with any legal issues later. Thankfully, he has not faced any legal issues since then, and gratefully, he saved Grace from the next three sudden cardiac arrests at the office and in the toilets of shopping malls.

Survey: Fear of legal implications a key deterrent

Jeffrey is not alone in fearing accusation of molesting or being sued for injury while doing CPR.

According to a survey commissioned by Singapore Heart Foundation (SHF) and Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF), 6% of respondents are afraid of being wrongfully accused of sexual harassment when they perform CPR on a stranger.

No case filed

Ms Kuah Boon Theng S.C., Managing Director of Legal Clinic LLC, advised, “In a life-saving emergency, it would be difficult to prove that a would-be rescuer is placing hands on a woman with the criminal intent of molesting that person.”

On the likelihood of being sued for causing injury, she said, “In reality, such concerns have not translated into actual complaints, claims or court proceedings. If a casualty or their next-of-kin were minded to sue a rescuer, it would be necessary to prove that the rescuer was at fault, and it was the wrongdoing that caused the casualty to suffer injury.

“… someone wanting to make a claim would have to prove that if the casualty was left well alone, he would have been better off. That is not a case that is easy to make… If you perform proper chest compressions, it is well accepted that there is an inherent risk of injury (such as rib fracture), but the claimant has to prove that without this attempt to save a life, the victim would have been better off. Again, this is something that is going to be very difficult to establish.

“That is why we encourage people to undergo basic CPR training – so that they do not have to resort to reckless measures and are also not paralysed into inaction.”

Grace appeals to individuals to “put themselves in the shoes of a parent. If your daughter suffers cardiac arrest, would you be selective in who can or cannot save your daughter? I believe you would just want your daughter to be alive, that’s all.”

Jeffrey’s advice to those with similar fears — “Be brave, step up and help. If you hesitate, a life may be lost forever.”

Want to learn how to perform CPR+AED on a female cardiac casualty?

Sign up for a CPR+AED certification course, and practice lifesaving skills on the newly introduced female CPR manikin vest here.

If you do face a legal issue arising from your resuscitation attempt and wish to seek legal advice but are unable to afford a private lawyer, Singapore Heart Foundation is in collaboration with the Law Society Pro Bono Services to provide free legal consultations at their Community Legal Clinics. Find out more here.