PARAMEDICS are secretly filming patients suffering heart attacks as part of a controversial research project in Scotland.

Tiny chest cameras are being worn by a team of 12 ambulance personnel to capture what happens when patients suffering cardiac arrests are resuscitated.

The Scottish Ambulance Service (SAS) says strict measures are in place to ensure the footage is seen only by those involved in the research, and that the project is already saving lives.

However, concern has been expressed that the public were not informed about the filming, which started at the end of last summer, and patients are unable to give their consent because they are dangerously ill.

Jackie Baillie, health spokeswoman for Scottish Labour, said: "I am surprised the ambulance service has chosen to take an approach of secrecy with this.

"I welcome research and training which will improve lifesaving chances for people who suffer heart attacks. But for there to be no knowledge of filming, no consent sought and no transparency is simply unacceptable.

"At one of the most upsetting, vulnerable and private moments of a person's life, we must have respect for both the privacy of the patient and their next of kin. Before such programmes are introduced in the future, we must ensure people know what is happening and have the opportunity to express their views."

One of Scotland's leading human rights lawyers said that while there was an issue of consent and a potential breach of the European Convention on Human Rights, such arguments would be difficult to sustain in context of the potential benefits of the scheme.

Advocate Niall McCluskey said: "There are consent issues and if this isn't provided you could say there's a breach of article eight and the right to a private life. But that's never absolute and has to be weighed against other factors.

"If this scheme results in advances in cardiac health care it is difficult to see how this could be outweighed, or to argue against the benefits."

Details of the project, conducted in collaboration with Edinburgh University, are yet to be released, but it involves testing a mechanical resuscitation device to perform heart compressions on patients.

A spokesman for the ambulance service said the footage was fully encrypted on the camera and could only be viewed on one specific computer. He said patients could not be identified from the film and it would be permanently deleted after it had been used.

A number of ethics committees were involved in considering the project and the SAS said it has no need to obtain consent from patients for the research.

The SAS spokesman said: "A camera is being used by a small team of 12 paramedics in Edinburgh as part of a project researching out-of-hospital cardiac arrests which has already saved lives and improved survival rates. It is providing valuable learning that will ultimately be shared to enhance patient care across the country."

Phil Booth, co-ordinator of campaign group medConfidential, said: "My area of most concern is around just exactly how they are uploading and downloading this video and how the deletion is done afterwards."

Trade union representatives for the ambulance service in the East of Scotland were involved in discussions about the project before it started.

David Forbes, regional organiser for Unison, said: "Our concern was that this might be used to discipline individuals if it showed up an issue with their performance. We were categorically assured it would not be and we were reassured by that."

The project is taking place in Edinburgh with one camera in use at a time. The SAS spokesman said if the scheme was rolled out the same strict procedures would be in place and all staff would have to agree to the plan.