Estonia proposes legal right for police to provide lifesaving first aid

Proposed amendments to Estonia’s law enforcement act would give police a clear legal basis to provide lifesaving first aid when a person’s life is at risk and an ambulance is not yet available, ERR reports.

Police already provide first aid in practice, but the law does not clearly define how far officers may go before paramedics arrive. Roger Kumm, head of the police prevention and misdemeanour proceedings bureau, said dozens of officers have the necessary skills.

“If someone has been stabbed and develops a pneumothorax, for example, police officers are currently not allowed to use invasive methods, even though police medics have specialised training,” Kumm said.

He said officers could begin many important procedures before an ambulance arrives. In one example, emergency medical services could not enter the scene of a shooting in Lihula because of the high level of danger. Police may also be closer than an ambulance after a serious traffic accident and could begin providing lifesaving assistance.

Ain Peil, an adviser at the Ministry of the Interior’s law enforcement and misdemeanour proceedings department and the bill’s drafter, said first aid is not precisely regulated in Estonia. However, the general principle is that everyone should provide first aid within the limits of their competence, particularly employees of public authorities.

Peil said clearer rules on the procedures included in police training would help officers decide whether they could act without worrying about their legal authority to do so.

The Society for Emergency Medicine supports the amendment. However, its board member Tanel Lepik said the law should include a clear list of the procedures police officers may perform.

Lepik said some of the procedures covered by an officer’s training would be invasive and could harm a person if performed incorrectly. He said the list should be drawn up in cooperation with ambulance and emergency medicine doctors, who take over patients from police officers.

The amendments would also allow police officers to establish drug intoxication using a rapid test, without necessarily taking a person to an emergency department. In addition, a doctor would no longer be the only healthcare professional authorised to establish intoxication in a hospital; a nurse or another healthcare worker could also do so.