Narrative:

Concerned passenger with poc (portable oxygen concentrators) had been in lavatory for quite a while. Asked his partner if he normally takes a long time in the restroom and if she would like to check on him with me. She walked to the forward lavatory with me; I unlocked it for her; and she exclaimed; 'he's out cold!' he was slumped over on top of the toilet seat. I paged for a doctor. A doctor and C flight attendant came forward. Doctor tried to wake him; took his pulse; and said; 'he has no pulse!' I said; 'we need to get him on the ground!' the doctor and I couldn't lift or move him ('dead weight'). C was already communicating with the pilots. I stated there was no time for medlink; and I asked C for the aed and blankets. She called B in the back and asked for those items and cuff and stethoscope; all of which she brought forward. I asked [two passengers] to help move him to the floor. They got him lying in the aisle with bathroom door open against flight deck door; his head against the open door and next to the galley glass drawer's compartment. I had retrieved gloves and mask from flight attendant kit and knelt on galley floor and began cpr. C applied pads and followed aed prompts. Whenever patient was analyzed; there was never a shock advised. The doctor was kneeling on the lavatory floor trying to give breaths into my mask that weren't going in or timed with my compressions. A retired nurse came forward and offered to take over compressions if I was tired. I wasn't and knew they needed to be secured for landing so I sent them back to their seats. I told C I would land in the aisle giving cpr and that I needed her to take my jump seat to cover the two front doors and B needed to cover both back doors. B and C secured the entire cabin for landing; B comforted his family and other passengers and C monitored and counted with me. I landed giving compressions; C disarmed and opened L1; and the paramedics finally took over. After all the passengers were off we needed time to debrief; talk with scheduling; supervisors; and csas; decide whether we were capable of working the flight home; talk to our spouses; etc.; so the flight was delayed. I wish I would have checked on the passenger sooner and been more assertive with the doctor and more in charge of him since he was clearly not a first responder. Since a passenger may very likely not be in a position for us to perform cpr; I think in training when we practice the scenario we shouldn't have the mannequin neatly lying on his back on the floor. I think we should practice; 'flight attendant; get me the aed; page for medical personnel; and notify the flight deck. [Passenger helpers]; you and you; help me get the passenger lying here on their back!'

Related reports:

Google
 

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: A B737 Flight Attendant reported difficulty responding to an unconscious passenger and suggested improvements in training to deal with an ill passenger.

Narrative: Concerned passenger with POC (Portable Oxygen Concentrators) had been in lavatory for quite a while. Asked his partner if he normally takes a long time in the restroom and if she would like to check on him with me. She walked to the forward lavatory with me; I unlocked it for her; and she exclaimed; 'He's out cold!' He was slumped over on top of the toilet seat. I paged for a doctor. A doctor and C FA came forward. Doctor tried to wake him; took his pulse; and said; 'He has no pulse!' I said; 'We need to get him on the ground!' The doctor and I couldn't lift or move him ('dead weight'). C was already communicating with the pilots. I stated there was no time for MedLink; and I asked C for the AED and blankets. She called B in the back and asked for those items and cuff and stethoscope; all of which she brought forward. I asked [two passengers] to help move him to the floor. They got him lying in the aisle with bathroom door open against flight deck door; his head against the open door and next to the galley glass drawer's compartment. I had retrieved gloves and mask from FA kit and knelt on galley floor and began CPR. C applied pads and followed AED prompts. Whenever patient was analyzed; there was never a shock advised. The doctor was kneeling on the lavatory floor trying to give breaths into my mask that weren't going in or timed with my compressions. A retired nurse came forward and offered to take over compressions if I was tired. I wasn't and knew they needed to be secured for landing so I sent them back to their seats. I told C I would land in the aisle giving CPR and that I needed her to take my jump seat to cover the two front doors and B needed to cover both back doors. B and C secured the entire cabin for landing; B comforted his family and other passengers and C monitored and counted with me. I landed giving compressions; C disarmed and opened L1; and the paramedics finally took over. After all the passengers were off we needed time to debrief; talk with scheduling; supervisors; and CSAs; decide whether we were capable of working the flight home; talk to our spouses; etc.; so the flight was delayed. I wish I would have checked on the passenger sooner and been more assertive with the doctor and more in charge of him since he was clearly not a first responder. Since a passenger may very likely not be in a position for us to perform CPR; I think in training when we practice the scenario we shouldn't have the mannequin neatly lying on his back on the floor. I think we should practice; 'FA; get me the AED; page for medical personnel; and notify the flight deck. [Passenger helpers]; you and you; help me get the passenger lying here on their back!'

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.