§ Mr. Dalyellasked the Secretary of State for Scotland whether, in view of the fact that more than 60 per cent. of deaths resulting from heart attack occur within an hour after the attack, and that the ambulance transport period is often lost time in terms of diagnosis and treatment, he will study the National Aeronautics and Space Agency developed system whereby electrodes are sprayed on a patient's body so that heart signals can be radioed by a telemetry system to the hospital from a moving ambulance, enabling doctors reading electrocardiograms at a hospital to have advance knowledge of the patient's condition before the ambulance arrives.
§ Mr. Gordon CampbellMy Department has this interesting development under review, but I am advised that although techniques of the kind suggested may be of value, the primary requirement is immediate medical treatment. On the recommendation of my Advisory Committee on Medical Research, the Scottish Hospital Endowments Research Trust is supporting in Edinburgh a study to assess the effect of providing an emergency service by a specialist doctor on a flying squad basis.