I won't go into details for obvious reasons but I (a paramedic), got involved with a patient from LAX to LHR. The diagnosis of the ground medic was completely wrong. After consultation with the Captain he chose to accept the view of the person on scene and I understand that the doctor on the ground was rather rude when informed of that decision.
Had I or someone else similarly trained not been there the flight would not have diverted and the passenger would have died somewhere off the eastern seaboard of the USA. We were on the ground and he was in an ambulance in under an hour and in surgery within another hour. Doctors gave him maybe that time plus a little had I not been there and started emergency treatment.
The crew could not be faulted in what they did or passed to the ground Doctor. But they weren't nor is there any reason to expect them to, be asking the right differential questions to determine the miss diagnosis. Seeing a patient tells so much.
As for defrubilators... Great for what they're designed for if used early. As stated above not every cardiac arrest is a suitable use. In almost 15 years on the road operationally I can count on 1 hand the number of patients who left hospital to return to normal life..
HTC.