§ Mr. BurnsTo ask the Secretary of State for Health how many 999 calls were made to the Greater London Ambulance Service in the last 12 months for which figures are available for which a police presence was also provided; and what criteria are used to decide whether a police presence is required to an ambulance call-out. [127470]
§ Mr. HuttonThis information is not held centrally. The London Ambulance Service National Health Service Trust (LAS) does not routinely collect this information. The LAS informs me that the decision whether to call police for assistance is made either by control room staff or by ambulance crews using information on the nature of the call.
§ Mr. BurnsTo ask the Secretary of State for Health how many 999 calls were made to the Greater London Ambulance Service over the last 12 months for which figures are available for which it was decided an ambulance was not necessary; and what proportion of calls over this period such calls represented. [127486]
§ Mr. HuttonThis information is not centrally held.
§ Mr. BurnsTo 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) Essex and 160W (b) England; and what average length of time it took for ambulances to reach (a) the patient and (b) the hospital to which the patient needed to be taken. [127466]
§ Ms Rosie WintertonThe latest information about the proportion of emergency calls resulting in an ambulance arriving at the scene of the reported incident, within the Government's target response times for Essex and all other ambulance trusts, is contained in the Department of Health Statistical Bulletin, "Ambulance Services, England 2002–03".
Copies of the bulletin have been placed in the Library and are also available at www.doh.gov.uk/public/sb0313.htm.
Information on the average length of time taken for ambulances to reach the hospital to which the patient needed to be taken is not collected centrally.
§ Tim LoughtonTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what percentage of ambulance response times meet the eight minute target; and how many met the target in 2001–02, broken down by trust. [127534]
§ Ms Rosie WintertonThe latest information about the proportion of emergency calls resulting in an ambulance arriving at the scene of the reported incident within the Government's target response times for all other ambulance trusts, is contained in the Department of Health Statistical Bulletin "Ambulance Services, England 2002–03".
Copies of the bulletin are available in the Library and also at: www.doh.gov.uk/public/sb0313h
§ Dr. FoxTo ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on the performance targets set by his Department for ambulance services. [127324]
§ Ms Rosie WintertonAmbulance national health service trusts should respond to 75 per cent. of category A (life threatening) calls within eight minutes. All other emergency calls should be responded to 95 per cent. of the time within 14 minutes in urban areas and 19 minutes in rural areas.
Information about ambulance services response times are collected each year by the Department and published annually. The latest information shows that nationally 74.6 per cent. of category A calls resulted in an emergency response arriving at the scene of the incident within 8 minutes compared to 70.7 per cent. in 2001–02. Further information is contained in the Department of Health statistical bulletin Ambulance Services, England 2002–03.
A copy is available in the Library and also on the Department's website at www.doh.gov.uk/public/sb0313.htm.
§ Dr. FoxTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the effect of speed restrictions on ambulance response times. [127325]
§ Ms Rosie WintertonNo national studies have taken place on the effect of speed restrictions on ambulance response times.
161WDrivers of ambulance vehicles can claim exemptions from some of the provisions of various Road Traffic Acts and Regulations—including speed restrictions—where it hinders them from responding to a life threatening emergency call.
§ Dr. FoxTo ask the Secretary of State for Health how many(a) emergency vehicles and (b) vehicles for non-emergency services were in service with each NHS ambulance trust in each of the last three years. [127336]
§ Ms Rosie WintertonThe information requested is not collected centrally.
§ Chris GraylingTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he is taking to protect ambulance staff from aggressive behaviour by patients. [127736]
§ Ms Rosie WintertonThe Government are determined to tackle the assaults and intimidation that too many national health service staff face. As part of the work previously carried out under the NHS zero tolerance zone campaign, specific guidance to support managers and staff working in ambulance trusts, "Managing Violence in Ambulance Trusts", was issued by the Department of Health.
Responsibility for tackling assaults against staff working in the NHS passed to the Counter Fraud and Security Management Service (CFSMS) on 1 April 2003. During 2003–04 the CFSMS will be taking forward a number of initiatives to reduce the number of both physical and non-physical assaults. The CFSMS is currently developing;
conflict resolution training for all frontline staff including ambulance staff as a key preventative measure to reduce the number of incidents;a national and consistent reporting system to record incidents of physical assaults on staff, using a common definition, with the ability to track cases from report to conclusion. This will allow for intervention where appropriate in order to ensure the best possible outcome for the victim concerned and help increase the rate of offenders prosecuted;a consistent locally managed reporting system will be established to deal with non-physical assaults using the common law definition. Clear definitions of assault will enable sanctions that are appropriate to the incident to be sought;a legal protection unit to provide health bodies with advice on cost-effective methods of pursuing a wide range of sanctions against offenders including criminal and civil action where appropriate;ways in which technology can be used to provide better protection for staff. This work is undertaken in co-operation with the Home Office. One of the chosen test sites for the "Safer Hospitals" project is an ambulance trust;a Memorandum of Understanding with the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) to ensure that a consistent national approach to reducing physical and non-physical assaults on staff is taken by both the NHS and the police.