** Scottish firefighters in some areas to now respond to out-of-hospital cardiac arrests
** Nova Scotia prosecutors drop appeal of breach of trust acquittal of former paramedic
convicted of sexually assaulting elderly female
UNITED KINGDOM NEWS
** A joint partnership between the Scottish Ambulance Service and fire organizations will see
some firefighters now empowered to respond to out of hospital cardiac arrests. The BBC (October 29)
said the trial, which will take place at seven stations in West and East Lothian, Aberdeenshire,
and the Scottish Borders, is aimed at upping the current heart attack survival rate of only 4 per cent.
According to the news site, other countries such as some in Scandinavia boast a 34 per cent
survival stat. Predictions say firefighter involvement could save as many as 1,000 lives in the
next four years. Firefighters taking part in the trial have been given enhanced CPR training.
CANADA NEWS
** A former Nova Scotia paramedic, sentenced to 4 years in jail for sexually assaulting the wife of an
elderly patient, will not have to face breach of trust tags on top of his conviction. That is the word
from the Herald News (Sherri Borden Colley/October 29) which said prosecutors in the case of
James Duncan Keats, 50, have now abandoned their appeal of a judge’s decision to acquit the
former paramedic on the charges. According to the newspaper, the judge in the case said the tag
did not apply because Keats was not a public official. The decision comes after the Court of Appeal
ruled similarly in the case of another paramedic charged with breach of trust. In that instance
involving the drug case against Liverpool medic Kenneth Wade Cosh, judges said Cosh worked for
a private company and so could not be considered a public official. Keats’ legal odyssey, meanwhile,
continues, with his next trial for sexual assault set for December 12th in Halifax at the Nova Scotia
Supreme Court. Other matters involving different women remain pending.
