A Win for Patients During Joint Emergency Responses - Peel Paramedics and Dufferin Paramedic Services

Following a call from the Peel Paramedic Union (OPSEU/SEFPO Local 277) urging Dufferin Paramedic Services to remove barriers preventing Peel Paramedics from using Double Sequential External Defibrillation (DSED) during joint and overlapping emergency responses, an agreement was reached on July 20th 2026.

Peel Paramedics are now permitted to use DSED on joint emergency calls with Dufferin.

Peel Paramedics have been using DSED for more than 10 years as part of their advanced cardiac arrest care. However, Dufferin Paramedic Services has not yet implemented DSED.

Peel joins many other Ontario paramedic services that use DSED, including Toronto, Halton, Simcoe, and Rama, along with many others.

This agreement ensures Peel Paramedics can continue providing this advanced intervention during joint responses, helping maintain continuity of patient care when every second counts.

For information on how the Double Sequential External Defibrillation (DSED) works click link: https://first60.ca/education/dsed/

To see how the Double Sequential External Defibrillation (DSED) works watch the Peel Regional Paramedic Services (PRPS) video below.

Original Press Release from the Paramedics Union OPSEU/SEFPO Local 277:

Peel Paramedics Call on Dufferin Paramedic Services to End Policy Restricting Life-Saving Care

Caledon, Ontario – The Peel Paramedic Union, OPSEU/SEFPO Local 277, is calling on Dufferin Paramedic Services to immediately remove barriers preventing Peel paramedics from using Double Sequential External Defibrillation (DSED), a resuscitation technique supported by leading research for patients experiencing refractory cardiac arrest.

Recent policy directives issued by Peel Regional Paramedic Services, at the request of Dufferin Paramedic Services, restrict Peel paramedics from performing DSED when responding to emergencies alongside Dufferin paramedics.

DSED involves the coordinated use of two defibrillators to deliver sequential shocks to a patient whose heart has not responded to conventional defibrillation. Research has demonstrated that DSED can significantly improve survival in patients with refractory ventricular fibrillation after standard defibrillation has failed.

As a result of the current policy, Peel paramedics attending emergencies with Dufferin crews are prevented from using DSED, despite being trained and experienced in the procedure.

“Peel Regional Paramedics were involved in the research that propelled Double Sequential External Defibrillation onto the world stage, but a paramedic service in our own backyard refuses to get with the times and provide the best care for their patients,” said Dave Wakely, President of the Peel Paramedic Union, OPSEU/SEFPO Local 277. “When Dufferin crews respond into Peel, it also means our patients are not receiving the world-class care we helped pioneer. Instead, Dufferin management is stuck in 2015 while the science has moved forward.”

Doctor Sheldon Cheskes, Medical Director for Peel's Paramedics and Principal Investigator for the study that established the value of DSED and helped change cardiac arrest management world wide, notes "double sequential external defibrillation was proven in Peel and other sites in Ontario. It saves lives and should be the standard of care. I want my Paramedics to be able to deliver the best care wherever they go and without regard to what agency they are responding with."  

Peel paramedics have been leaders in advancing cardiac arrest care through participation in internationally recognized resuscitation research. Local 277 believes patients should benefit from the best available evidence regardless of municipal boundaries or service jurisdiction.

Cardiac arrest remains one of the leading causes of sudden death. Every improvement in resuscitation increases the likelihood that a patient will survive and return home with good neurological function. This issue came to light when Peel Paramedics performed DSED with Dufferin Paramedics and saved the life of a Dufferin resident. If that same call happened today, paramedics would be expected to withhold the very treatment that saved this patient's life. Local 277 believes patients should receive the best available treatment regardless of which ambulance service responds.

The union is calling on Dufferin Paramedic Services to modernize its clinical policies and work collaboratively with neighbouring services to ensure patients receive evidence-based care during cardiac arrest. Further, the union is calling on Peel Paramedic management to do a better job advocating for the patients we serve. 

About OPSEU/SEFPO Local 277

The Peel Paramedic Union, OPSEU/SEFPO Local 277, represents nearly 1,000 Paramedics and Logistics Technicians serving the residents of Brampton, Mississauga, and Caledon. Peel's Paramedics have played a significant role in advancing prehospital medicine through participation in leading resuscitation research and remain committed to delivering the highest standard of emergency medical care. Local 277 is a local of the One

Media Contact

Dave Wakely
President, OPSEU/SEFPO Local 277
905-601-3208
labourguydave@gmail.com