§ 5. Mr. Prydeasked the Secretary of State for Scotland the number of ambulance vehicles and personnel at present operating under the National Health Service in the county of Midlothian.
§ Mr. J. StuartThere are 34 ambulances in Midlothian of which 24 are manned by 46 full-time employees of the Scottish Ambulance Service. The other 10 vehicles in the Service are run under contract by garage proprietors who supply drivers and attendants as required.
§ Mr. PrydeIs the Minister aware that there are still not sufficient of these vehicles, because we find that ambulance drivers are compelled to go round the hospitals collecting patients to bring them home, sometimes to the great detriment of patients who should be transported quickly?
§ Mr. StuartI agree that they should be transported quickly, but conditions differ in different areas, and I hope that it is not entirely unsatisfactory. Apart from Edinburgh and Gorebridge, this work in Midlothian is done by contract.