Incidents
You may have encountered a scene or situation where someone needed help. Have you ever wondered why you or others nearby might hesitate to step in when a tragedy happens?
This hesitation often isn’t due to a lack of willingness to help; instead, it can be part of a psychological phenomenon known as the ‘bystander effect’.
The bystander effect occurs when being in a crowd discourages an individual from helping the injured victim during an emergency. The more people there are, the less likely anyone is to take action to assist the victim. It is also associated with the ‘diffusion of responsibility’, where individuals might feel they don’t have to extend a helping hand, as others will intervene, specifically because there are so many witnesses.
Social influence could also be another factor contributing to this phenomenon, where bystanders first observe how others around them are reacting to the emergency to determine what their actions should be. For example, if everyone’s immediate reaction is to assist the injured party, then people who are new to the scene feel more inclined to get involved and play their part in helping.
On a personal level, a person might struggle to take action because they feel fear themselves, or are scared of being judged by others. Alternatively, they have gone into shock from witnessing the traumatic event, or feel helpless and simply don’t know what to do. There’s also the possibility that people sometimes just don’t know what to do and are afraid they could cause further harm to the victim.
In an emergency, every second counts. Heinrich Africa, ER24 Clinical Performance Operations Specialist: Pre-hospital EMS, explains what you can do to help:
Don’t wait for someone else: If you witness a medical emergency, accident, or someone in distress, instead take action immediately. It’s far better to be the 10th caller than for no one to have called for help at all.
Call for help: Even when you’re unsure how severe the injury might be, call emergency services or the police immediately. If there are other people/witnesses around you, don’t try to handle everything alone—ask them to assist where possible.
Stay calm: While minding your safety is essential, staying calm, getting all the crucial details from the victim so you can relay that information and providing as many of those details as you can to the emergency personnel is key.
It's better to check and be safe than to stay silent and risk a life. Call ER24 on 084 124; our teams are on standby 24/7, ready to respond when you call.
For more tips on calling for help, click here