Ambulances (Hansard, 17 November 2003)

§ Mr. Rosindell
To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the average response time of ambulances to 999 calls in the London borough of Havering was in the last year for which figures are available. [137321]

§ Mr. Hutton
Information on response times is collected on a national health service trust basis. A copy is available in the Library and at http:// www.doh.gov.uk/public/sb0313.pdf.

§ Mr. Woodward
To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the average time an ambulance took to reach hospital was for the last 12 months that figures are available in(a) England, (b) the north west region, (c) Merseyside and (d) St. Helens. [138004]

§ Ms Rosie Winterton
The information requested is not collected centrally.
Details of ambulance performance are contained in the Department of Health Statistical Bulletin, "Ambulance Services, England 2002–03". A copy of the bulletin is available in the Library and on the Department's website at www.doh.gov.uk/public/ sb0313.htm.
571W

§ Mr. Woodward
To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many ambulance call-outs were made in the last 12 months for which figures are available in(a) the St. Helens trust area, (b) Merseyside and (c) England. [138005]

§ Ms Rosie Winterton
Information about the number of emergency calls received by national health service ambulance trusts, including Mersey Regional Ambulance Service, is contained in the Department of Health Statistical Bulletin, "Ambulance Services, England 2002–03". A copy of the bulletin is available in the Library and on the Department's website at www.doh.gov.uk/public/sb0313.htm.

§ Mr. Woodward
To ask the Secretary of State for Health what proportion of ambulance call outs in the most recent 12 months for which figures are available have taken more than(a) 15, (b) 30 and (c) 50 minutes to respond to category A emergency calls in (i) the St. Helens and Knowsley Trust area, (ii) Merseyside and (iii) England. [138008]

§ Ms Rosie Winterton
The information requested is not collected centrally.
Details of ambulance performance are contained in the Department of Health Statistical Bulletin, "Ambulance Services, England 2002–03". A copy of the bulletin is available in the Library and on the Department's website at www.doh.gov.uk/public/ sb0313.htm.

§ Chris Grayling
To ask the Secretary of State for Health what action is being taken by his Department to respond to the concerns of the Commission for Health Improvement in relation to(a) ambulance response times being manipulated, (b) wide variations in the categorisation of calls, (c) poor management practice in ambulance trusts and (d) the need for appropriate outcome measures for the ambulance service. [138059]

§ Ms Rosie Winterton
The Department of Health and the ambulance service recognise that response times can sometimes be recorded inconsistently. We are determined to resolve this and have already begun to hold constructive discussions with the service and other key stakeholders about how to tighten up and standardise procedures.
We will not tolerate any deliberate mis-reporting of data and have made it very clear that serious consequences will follow any individual or trusts that seek to manipulate their performance data.
Response time will always be an important measure of the service to patients and there is no immediate prospect of moving away from the eight minute standard. The standard has clinical origins—it is based on the optimum time limit for intervention in heart attack cases. But there are other signifiers of progress and other measures of success, and we intend to explore the possibilities of supplementing response times with other standards, including those directly related to clinical outcomes.
We are working closely with the Modernisation Agency and key stakeholders concerning management practices raised within this report.