UK doc here – FY2. Have caught myself wondering about something as I am about to get on a flight and go on holiday. I have semiregularly heard friends and colleagues talk about the unlikely event of being called upon whilst on a plane. They seem to have agreed with each other that if they had had any alcohol at all they would not volunteer their services. Some say that this rule would be bent in life and death situations, others say they would not practice in public under any circumstances if they had been drinking even small quantities.
I'm keen to have a beer in the terminal and get on my flight, maybe even have another drink on the plane. The UK, unlike the US tends not to be a litigious nation to quite the same degree, and i think litigation drives fear more than anything else. I can't ever picture myself sitting there defiantly in my chair after two beers if an announcement was put out that a doctor was needed. What do we all think?
Is it legally defensible to refuse to help if you've been drinking in order to save your own skin? Which side do we fall down on legally, if not ethically?
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