§ Mr. Merchantasked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many ambulance journeys were undertaken in the last year for which figures are available; and what percentage of these were for non-emergency purposes.
§ Mr. John PattenInformation is not available in the form requested. The table shows the number of National Health Service patients carried by road in England in 1983 by type of service and distinguishes between emergency cases and other cases. In addition, the ambulance services arranged for the transport of some 18,000 patients by rail or air in 1983 but no information is available on the number of these which were non-emergency cases.
Ambulance services 1983—National Health Service patients carried by road England Type of service Number of patient journeys* (thousands) Total Emergency Other cases Directly provided/ Agency 17,982 1,814 16,168 Supplementary (hospital car and other) 3,130 — 3,130 All road services—Number 21,112 1,184 19,298 Percentage of total 9 91 * "Patient journey" is the carriage of one patient in one direction.