Chinese ride-share driver answers emergency calls, rushing to scenes to save lives

A Chinese ride-sharing driver has dedicated himself to his city’s emergency medical services, offering first aid to nearly 400 cases in the past year.Liu Xianfu, 54, is a driver and first aid volunteer in Foshan city, in southern China’s Guangdong province.The migrant from Hunan province in the south-central region first worked as a truck driver, then a taxi driver. He saw many accidents on the road and remembered the frustration of not being able to help.He joined a volunteer team near his home in 2014, helping take elderly people to the hospital, or students to their exams, for free.Last year, he witnessed an elderly man falling and passing out. His companion knew how to do first aid, and performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) on the man in time, successfully saving his life.This inspired Liu to learn first aid himself. After receiving training, he then became a certified member of a pre-hospital emergency care volunteer service team with the Foshan-medical-emergency-command-centre" class="entity-link entity-organization" data-entity-id="168506" data-entity-type="organization">Foshan Medical Emergency Command Centre.After mastering CPR, Liu became a certified member of the pre-hospital emergency response volunteer team under the Foshan-medical-emergency-command-centre" class="entity-link entity-organization" data-entity-id="168506" data-entity-type="organization">Foshan Medical Emergency Command Centre. Photo: nfplusIn recent years, many cities in China have organised official pre-hospital emergency volunteer teams, to increase the survival chances of those in critical condition.Liu said the team’s task was to provide initial assistance before medical personnel arrived, such as on-site assessment, CPR and defibrillation.The system sends a task to volunteers within a 3km radius on an emergency rescue app, based on their location.In order to prevent ride-sharing orders from interrupting the alerts, Liu has a separate phone for the app.Further ReadingLiu said many volunteers were ride-hailing drivers and couriers like him, who were familiar with city roads and often arrived before ambulances.Over the past year, Liu has helped 385 people in need. In one case, he arrived in time to help a man who had stopped breathing and had no heartbeat. Liu performed CPR on him before the ambulance arrived. The man survived.Liu said the volunteers were there to use the “golden four minutes”, the critical window of opportunity after a cardiac arrest.He has also helped people who were not in life-or-death situations, such as drunk people asleep on the roadside, or those injured in accidents.Liu always keeps two automated external defibrillators (AEDs) in his car, which in total cost over 20,000 yuan (US$3,000). To put this in perspective, he earns 3,000 to 4,000 yuan a month.Liu spent 20,000 yuan (US$3,000) on two vehicle AEDs, despite earning just 3,000 to 4,000 yuan monthly. Photo: nfplusLiu inspects the condition of his car as well as the first aid kit every morning. After completing a day’s work at 9pm, Liu moves the AEDs from the boot to the back seat, and parks the car without locking the doors, so anyone in need can use the equipment.He also runs at least 6km every morning to maintain his stamina for first aid.“He must be a man of great love to be able to be such a Good Samaritan,” one internet user said.“Such a first aid volunteer pattern should be developed nationally, and more people need to master basic first aid skills,” said another.