Inquest makes 29 recommendations following death of James Hearst

Nearly three years after he died waiting more than half an hour for an ambulance, a coroner’s jury delivered a series of recommendations Tuesday on how tragedies like the passing of James Hearst can be avoided.

“I ask myself a question: Was it necessary for my partner to die for them to realize the huge holes they had in their system? I don’t think so,” said Hearst’s partner Alejandro Martinez.

Hearst, 59, collapsed in the lobby of his apartment building at 40 Alexander St. on June 25, 2009 after suffering an apparent heart attack. It took paramedics more than half an hour to attend to Hearst despite repeated 911 calls.

An ambulance actually responded to the call within nine minutes, but waited about a block away for police to arrive, for unknown health and safety reasons – a process called staging.

Nearly 40 minutes after the initial call, emergency responders arrived and Hearst died shortly after.

One of the jury’s recommendations was for EMS to expand its protocol as it relates to staging or delay of service.

“There are times when we would attend a call and it is just simply unsafe for a paramedic to go rushing in in case someone is there that could harm them, so that would be an example of a delay in service call,” said EMS Chief Paul Raftis.

In addition, the jury advised EMS to pair new paramedics up with ones who have at least one year of service. The two paramedics who responded to Hearst’s call both had less than one year of experience.

Other recommendations include a memo sent to all Ontario call centres to ensure dispatchers ask for exact details, and having dispatchers go for an annual ride-along with paramedics.

Hearst died when the city’s outside workers, including paramedics, were on strike and staffing levels were reduced. Last month, the city reached a deal with CUPE Local 416 that states in the event of a strike, 100 per cent of paramedics and 95 per cent of dispatchers would stay on the job.