§ Ms. Estelle MorrisTo ask the Secretary of State for Health how the published response times of the ambulance service to 999 calls are calculated by her Department.
§ Mr. SackvilleResponse times are not calculated by this Department but are recorded locally and then submitted to the Department on an annual basis. The ambulance authorities and NHS trusts supply the Department with figures for the total number of emergency calls, and the numbers of these responded to within the target times.
The emergency response time is measured as the time between the receipt of a 999 call by ambulance control staff to the time of arrival of a fully equipped emergency ambulance and qualified crew at the scene of the incident.