Beijing (CNS) -- What is your first reaction when an elderly person falls on the ground and is in desperate need of help in front of you? The Ministry of Health recently released a handbook with detailed instructions on what to do in these types of situations, September 7.
"You don't have to hurry to offer a hand. Solutions vary from case to case. If the elderly person is unconscious, please call the emergency center as soon as possible."
Precise medical descriptions of various situations were given, in which immediate assistance is proposed for many. The 41-page and 23,000-word document has nearly covered all circumstances of elderly falls, the fourth leading cause of death in the above-65 group.
The pitiful occurrence of such an official guideline was triggered by a series of controversial legal cases involving elderly who later sued those that had helped them.
The first such incident was the "Peng Yu" case in 2006. Peng, a Nanjing resident, helped an old woman who had tumbled by a bus station, but was later sued for causing the woman's accident. The court ordered Peng to pay a 40,000-yuan compensation fee to the woman.
The five years since then has seen other versions of the same incident. The public has become more and more hesitant to help a real elderly person in need. Last week, the tragedy of an 88-year-old man who died because of the crowd's ignorance over his fall by a market, let us down again.
Will the new government instructions cure the psychological faults of society? Several netizens have commented: "When an elderly person falls, we have to first observe, and then think over the situation, and then hesitate for awhile. Maybe then can we call someone for advice, upon our conscience's voice 'step forward and help!'" "The rescue job should be done by public health workers. What about a verification scheme? Those who pass the test are qualified to offer their kindness. Oh my goodness, where is the social morality?"
Experts agree that a lack of social trust, rather than poor technical conditions, is the main cause of these gloomy stories. The "instructions" might come from a will to guard social virtues and rule out avoidable troubles. However, law assurance is a must to essentially peel back moral deterioration and to assure all elderly in need are taken good care of.
