§ Mrs. GormanTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what is the cost of running each ambulance service.
§ Mrs. Virginia BottomleyThe information requested, derived from the 1988–89 annual accounts of the regional health authorities (RHAs) and district health authorities in England which manage and account for these services, is shown in the table.
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Total revenue expenditure on patient transport (i.e. ambulance) services—1988–89 Regional/district health authorities £ Northern Regional Health Authority 9,652,274 South Tees 4,063,738 East Cumbria 4,198,245 Durham 4,292,461 Yorkshire Regional Health Authority 13,811,675 Hull 6,813,348 York 4,062,366 Trent Regional Health Authority 7,496,560 South Derbyshire 5,938,750 Leicestershire 5,349,592 North Lincolnshire 4,645,797 Nottingham 6,577,756 Cambridge 3,618,856 East Suffolk 3,396,348 Norwich 6,057,536 North Bedfordshire 2,942,325 East Hertfordshire 5,753,787 Mid Essex 9,148,786 Eastbourne 5,485,420 Medway 9,766,199 South West Thames Regional Health Authority 46,029,885 East Surrey 7,398,616 Chichester 1,157,371 Mid Downs 1,612,104 Worthing 1,423,770 East Dorset 4,502,789 Winchester 7,696,549 Swindon 3,836,516 Isle of Wight 939,210 West Berkshire 3,814,271 Aylesbury 3,246,717 Northampton 3,208,202 Oxfordshire 3,192,442 Bristol and Weston 5,356,017 Cornwall and Isles of Scilly 3,740,707 Exeter 3,325,197
Regional/district health authorities £ North Devon 1,273,991 Plymouth 1,839,102 Torbay 1,875,101 Gloucester 3,710,954 Somerset 3,028,723 West Midlands Regional Health Authority 14,485,006 Worcester 4,544,593 Shropshire 2,815,530 Mid Staffordshire 6,184,806 South Warwickshire 2,855,550 Chester 5,613,353 South Sefton 9,065,193 North Western Regional Health Authority 16,408,654 Preston 9,029,976 Total—England 306,282,714 Notes:
1. The figures are provisional (as yet subject to audit).
2. The South West Thames Regional Health Authority accounts for all the expenditure relevant to the London Ambulance Service. Generally the other Regional Health Authorities shown manage and account for the service provided to particular conurbations within their respective regions.
§ Mr. WareingTo ask the Secretary of State for Health whether his Department's evaluation of the Cornwall air ambulance service includes the possible consequences for the service of the granting of self-governing status to hospitals from the jurisdiction of the Cornwall and Isles of Scilly health authority; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mrs. Virginia BottomleyThere is no reason to suppose tht the possible NHS trust status of the hospitals served by the Cornwall air ambulance will affect either its need or effectiveness.
§ Mr. ShersbyTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what are the criteria for assessing the skills of emergency ambulance staff required to use paramedical skills gained from extended training to National Health Service training authority standard; what comparison has been made with payments made to other National Health Service staff using paramedical skills; and in offering an additional £500 to emergency ambulance staff, what accounrt has been taken of the amount of overtime they are obliged to work.
§ Mrs. Virginia BottomleySelected, qualified ambulance staff who volunteer for extended training, are trained and certified as fit to practice in the skills of extended ambulance aid by NHS consultants. They must requalify annually. The objective of this training is to save life and reduce morbidity, and mortality. A clinical audit carried out in 1988 indicated that of 28,000 patients who received some form of ambulance aid, some 95 per cent. were still alive on arrival at hospital. There are no comparable payments made to other NHS staff. The additional £500 to be paid to fully qualified staff will be part of the annual salary and will count in full when calculating overtime and other benefits.