§ Mr. Dobsonasked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will give for each year since 1979 the number of ambulance service journeys in Scotland carrying non-National Health Service patients and the total mileage involved.
§ Mr. John MacKayThe information is not available in precisely the form requested. The following table shows the mileage for all journeys by ambulances on non-NHS business, including journeys for ambulances hired for attendance at occasions such as sporting events.
Year Non-NHS patients carried Total Mileage 1979 323 9,571 1980 367 12,050 1981 325 12,467 1982 333 12,655 1983 332 12,727 1984 410 14,290 In 1984 the Scottish ambulance service carried more than two million patients and ambulances travelled over 15 million miles.