In any situation where life is threatened it is of utmost importance to deliver ambulatory service or fist aid care to the person due to the primary reason that saving life, the pragmatic philosophy of any emergency personnel, outweighs any issue on or regarding competency. But legally speaking and if time and situation permits the basic rule is to ask for consent. Given the situation where a person might be drug-impaired or alcohol-impaired hindering the capacity to assess their self, the recognition of implied consent is immediately imposed under the clause if and only if there is life or a limb in need of protection. It is also advisable to ask questions that can assess how impaired a person judgment is. Questions like, Do you know where you are , Can you tell me what happened , or Do you know what time is it . If given answers are vague or ambiguous another method that can help in assessing the capacity of the person is by using breathalyzer. It is to determine the amount of alcohol content in their breath, if results show that they have more than the standard amount alcohol content emergency personnel can record the incident along with signatures of witnesses regarding the situation and proceed with primary care but with the intention of only saving life or limb (Varone, 2007).
It is also advisable at all times to introduce yourselves to the person as well as your intention to them. Also make sure that every step that you are taking or about to take are spoken off and properly explained so as not to aggravate the situation and the person involved. It is of utmost important to document necessary steps and procedures taken and thereafter filling it as an incident report.
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