§ Dr. GodmanTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what assessment he has made on the frequency of 999 emergency ambulance calls in the past seven years in(a) Strathclyde and (b) Scotland as a whole; and if he will make a statement. [28096]
§ Lord James Douglas-HamiltonRegular monitoring of the performance of the Scottish Ambulance Service NHS trust by officials in the Home and Health Department includes an assessment of levels of demand. This information is also available to health boards as purchasers of the accident and emergency ambulance service. Figures for the last seven years are as follows:
Strathclyde1 Scotland Year Number of calls Variance (per cent.) Number of calls Variance (per cent.) 1988–89 79,876 — 156,813 — 1989–902 82,633 +3.5 167,981 +7.1 1990–912 83,503 +1.1 163,704 -2.5 1991–92 99,909 +19.6 190,608 -16.4 1992–93 105,410 +5.5 203,415 +6.7 1993–94 107,212 +1.7 209,146 +2.8 1994–95 111,101 +3.6 216,562 +3.6 Notes: 1 Information is not held in this form. These figures cover Ayrshire and Arran, Argyll and Clyde, Greater Glasgow and Lanarkshire Health Boards. 2 The Industrial dispute had an unquantifiable effect on the volume and accuracy of records in these years.