FURTHER to the article on the Rock Heartstart scheme, I would like to ask John Rushton if the ambulance trust is responsible for his and his colleagues' actions.

Collapse or cardiac arrest may have many different causes and it is not always straightforward to treat. Medico-legal claims have risen manyfold over the past 10 years and it is only a matter of time before someone sues Mr Rushton.

Automatic defibrillators are not foolproof in their analysis of cardiac rhythms and they certainly do not stop hearts, only restart them if a particular rhythm is present.

While I, too, admire Mr Rushton's enthusiasm and motives, I can only see this as a prop for a struggling ambulance service since Kidderminster Hospital was downgraded.

Heartstart was founded to train the general public to resuscitate someone either in the street or more usually a relative in their own homes.

DR RICHARD HERBERT Whitlenge Lane

Hartlebury