Toronto paramedics now have to see danger with their own eyes if they want to delay responding to an emergency.
That's one of the key changes to the city's Emergency Medical Services protocol in response to the death of James Hearst, a 59-year-old who had a heart attack and waited 38 minutes for help while an ambulance idled around the corner.
The new rules unveiled yesterday require an EMS supervisor to go to the scene when paramedics decide to "stage" a call - which means waiting for police because they fear for their safety. Paramedics stage approximately eight times every 24 hours.
EMS chief Bruce Farr couldn't say if the new protocol might have prevented Mr. Hearst's death, but he said it would "greatly reduce the opportunity of that ever reoccurring in the future."
On June 25, Mr. Hearst, a self-employed businessman, collapsed in the lobby of his apartment building at 40 Alexander St. A bystander called 911. He and two others frantically performed CPR while Mr. Hearst turned blue and stopped breathing.
Citing safety concerns, two paramedics dispatched to the scene decided to park a block and a half away on Yonge Street and wait for police.
A provincial investigation into Mr. Hearst's death said the delay was largely because of the paramedics' "inappropriate decision" to stage without trying to find out more about the case. When the provincial report was released in October, Mayor David Miller convened a task force to review the Toronto EMS staging policy.
Paramedics will be trained on the new protocol that evolved from the task force beginning next week.
