Need a doctor in the air?
In the event that a medical crisis strikes miles up in the sky, the harsh reality is that passengers are generally at the mercy of who happens to be onboard. That’s because the flight crew has very little emergency medical training, reports The New York Times. Flight attendants can administer oxygen and use a defribrillator, but they are not supposed to use the stethoscope or syringes. Instead, they are instructed to call upon trained volunteers from the cabin. “People think they have the same resources in the air as they do when they call 911, and it’s just not that way,†said Joan Sullivan Garrett, the founder of MedAire, a Phoenix company that provides airlines with medical advice. “They’re ignorant of the fact that there are many challenges of flying outside of their control.â€
Last week, Tripso columnist James Wysong offers some advice for passengers in case they ever experience an in-flight medical emergency.
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