Wednesday 23 October 2019

The UAE is soon set to pass a ‘Good Samaritan Law’, which
allows bystanders to offer aid in medical emergencies.

UAE residents ready to help in medical crises: study

DUBAI, April 1, 2019

More than three quarters (78 per cent) of people in the UAE are willing to help people caught in medical emergencies once the Good Samaritan Law is enforced in the country, according to new research from market research and data analytics firm YouGov.

The UAE is soon set to become the first Arab country to pass a ‘Good Samaritan Law’, which allows bystanders to offer aid in medical emergencies without fear of legal consequences.

The data also shows that more than four in five people (86 per cent) would voluntarily undergo medical training after the law comes into effect in order to become better equipped to offer assistance in an emergency situation.

YouGov’s research finds that at present just under a quarter (24 per cent) said they are trained in giving CPR and a third (33 per cent) are skilled in performing basic first aid treatments. However, more are keen to develop their skills in these areas once the law is introduced. One in six (17 per cent) are willing to pay to get themselves trained in first aid or CPR, with men being twice as likely to pay for training than women (21 per cent vs 10 per cent).

Furthermore, more than a third (36 per cent) would like to take free training and one in three (33 per cent) would do it if it is both free and convenient to them. One in twenty (5 per cent) are willing to get trained if it is mandated by their employer while only 3 per cent said they would not want to learn CPR or first aid at all. The research shows that 6 per cent say they are already trained.

YouGov’s research reveals that many people in the UAE do not have much knowledge of the current law about helping people in emergencies. Just under a quarter (23 per cent) think it is an offence to either help a stranger in a medical emergency (7 per cent), to not help a stranger in a medical emergency (3 per cent) or to help a victim without being trained in first aid or CPR (13 per cent).

One in five (21 per cent) believe they would be legally responsible if either they tried to help an emergency victim and that person gets hurt or dies subsequently (11 per cent) or if they help a victim without first aid or CPR training and they get hurt or die later (10 per cent).

The research says that 4 per cent think otherwise and feel if they help a person in a fatal situation, they would be legally protected.

While one in eight (12 per cent) believe there is no existing law in the country regarding this, four in ten (41 per cent) do not know about any laws related to this.

The research suggests that the proposed new law is not well-known. Under a quarter (23 per cent) are aware of it being introduced in the UAE, one in five (19 per cent) are not sure if they have heard about the law, while approaching three in five (58 per cent) don’t know about it at all. – TradeArabia News Service


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