KNeling in the crowded street, fighting for life every minute
The story of a doctor kneeling in the middle of the road, saving a person in an accident is attracting a lot of public attention.
At about 7 am on March 16, on a business trip, Dr. Nguyen Huy Tien - working at the Artificial Kidney Department, Hanoi Kidney Hospital - encountered a crowd gathering in alley 100, Nguyen Chi Thanh street.
In the middle of the circle, a young man lay motionless after a traffic accident, surrounded by a few small coins scattered by passersby because they thought the victim was... dead.
Recalling the moment of saving people without any hesitation, Dr. Tien shared: "Seeing the victim purple, without reaction, I almost immediately thought of the possibility of cardiac arrest. At that time, there was no time to hesitate, if I didn't do anything, the patient might lose the chance of survival.
Without hesitation, Dr. Tien stopped the car and quickly approached the victim. Preliminary examination showed that this person had lost consciousness, breathing weakly, and had almost no signs of circulating.
Recognizing this as an extremely critical situation, Dr. Tien immediately knelt down in the middle of the road, performed chest compressions - a basic emergency technique but vital in circulatory arrest cases. At the same time, he asked people around to call emergency 115.
Amidst the noisy space of the city during rush hour, compressions were maintained continuously and decisively. The crowd was initially confused and quickly dispersed, creating space for doctors to operate.
At that time, I almost didn't feel the pressure around me. I was just focused on how to maintain circulation for the patient," he recounted.
After a few minutes of persistent cardiac tamponade, a miracle happened: the victim began to show signs of self-breathing again. That moment made the witnesses burst into tears.
For Dr. Tien, that is the biggest reward.
For a medical professional, nothing is happier than seeing patients regain their lives," he said.
Golden time" is only counted in minutes
According to Dr. Nguyen Huy Tien, in cases of circulatory arrest, every second is decisive.
When the heart stops beating, blood is not pumped to the brain, and after only 4-5 minutes of lack of oxygen, brain cells may be irreversibly damaged. Therefore, the "golden time" for emergency care is almost only calculated in minutes.
If someone compresses the heart on the spot, the chance of survival will increase a lot," the doctor emphasized.
It is worth mentioning that the operations he performed in the middle of the road at that time – chest compressions, emergency calls – were all basic procedures that any doctor is trained in. However, in reality, not everyone is calm and decisive enough to perform in crowded, high-pressure conditions.
Doctor Tien believes that his actions are a combination of instinct to save people and professional skills.
The instinct urges to help immediately, but to do it right, you have to rely on knowledge and training," he shared.
As a doctor, in fact, this is not the first time he has faced such life-and-death situations. During his work, Dr. Tien has participated in many memorable emergency cases, including the case of a patient with grade IV anaphylaxis after being vaccinated against COVID-19 in 2021 - a condition that also led to circulatory arrest but was saved in time.
Doctors worry many people are still hesitant when meeting victims
From his own experience, Dr. Tien said that what worries him is that many people are still hesitant when encountering emergency situations. The main reason is the psychology of fear of doing wrong, fear of taking responsibility, or simply having never been instructed or practiced first aid skills.
Actually, basic heart compressions are not too complicated if guided correctly. The important thing is to dare to act," he said.
He recommends that everyone should be equipped with at least 3 important first aid skills: Recognize signs of circulatory arrest (loss of consciousness, apnea), call emergency services immediately, and if trained, perform cardiac tamponade as soon as possible.
In many cases, it is the people who are first present at the scene, even if not doctors, who decide the victim's chances of survival.
If more people know how to give first aid, the patient's chances of survival will be significantly higher, helping to maintain circulation until a professional emergency team arrives," Dr. Tien emphasized.
With timely and responsible actions, Dr. Nguyen Huy Tien was awarded a Certificate of Merit by the Director of the Hanoi Department of Health for his outstanding achievement in saving patients.
According to the assessment of the leaders of the Hanoi Department of Health, this is an accurate and timely action, clearly showing medical ethics and professional bravery, and at the same time strongly spreading the message: doctors are always ready to save people anywhere, anytime.
Receiving this recognition, Dr. Tien was quite surprised. "I think any doctor in that situation would do the same. This recognition is not only a motivation for me but also for many other medical staff," he shared.
After all, the message that the young doctor wants to send to the community is very simple: Learn first aid. Because in many situations, the first person to save a patient is not a doctor – but those who are present at the scene, daring to act in decisive moments.
