§ Mr. HoyleTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what extra funding he will provide to extend the fast response paramedics service in the Lancashire Ambulance Service. [8417]
989W
§ Jacqui SmithI apologise to my hon. Friend for the delay in responding to this question. I refer him to the reply that my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State gave my hon. Friend the Member for Blackpool, North and Fleetwood (Mrs. Humble) on 5 March 2002,Official Report, column 192W.
The Lancashire Ambulance Service was among the first to achieve the 75 per cent. target for reaching category A calls within eight minutes. It did so by investing in fast response paramedic services. The Government provided funding towards this scheme as well as towards the purchase of defibrillators. The money was used to extend the fast response service.
§ Mr. OatenTo ask the Secretary of State for Health when he will make an assessment of the re-organisation of ambulance services in Hampshire. [11975]
§ Ms Blears[holding answer Friday 2 November 2001]: I apologise to the hon. Member for the delay in responding to this question. I refer him to the reply that my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State gave my hon. Friend the Member for Blackpool, North and Fleetwood (Mrs. Humble) on 5 March 2002, Official Report, column 192W.
On 15 January 2002 I announced that proposals to merge ambulance trusts in the south-east would not go ahead.
This decision was made in light of two policy initiatives "Reforming Emergency Care" and "Shifting the Balance of Power" that will help to make ambulance services more responsive to local needs. Health authorities together with their primary care trusts will review the position of their local ambulance services by September 2002. They will make recommendations to the director of health and social care in the south about how ambulance services should be organised in the future.