Management of cardiac arrest by ambulance technicians and paramedics

Paramedics have other uses beside attending cardiac arrests EDITOR,--The paper by U M Guly and colleagues, of Edinburgh, shows the wisdom of the former managers of the Scottish Ambulance Service who in 1989, before the widespread introduction of paramedic training in Scotland, resolved to equip all frontline ambulances with defibrillators and train staff in their use.1 Since the start of the “Heartstart Scotland” programme about 1000 patients have recovered completely after a cardiac arrest outside hospital. …