§ Ms. RuddockTo ask the Secretary of State for Health how many times recorded announcements have been used in response to calls to the London ambulance service in(a) London and (b) South East Thames regional health authority in the last year; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. FreemanThis information is not collected routinely in the form requested and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
§ Ms. RuddockTo ask the Secretary of State for Health how many delays of more than(a) two minutes, (b) three minutes and (c) five minutes were recorded in the response rate by the London ambulance service to incoming calls in (i) London and (ii) South East Thames regional health authority in the last year.
§ Mr. FreemanThe information is not collected by the London ambulance service.
§ Ms. RuddockTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what is the average answering time by the London ambulance service to incoming calls in(a) London and (b) the South East Thames regional health authority.
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§ Mr. FreemanThis information is not collected routinely in the form requested and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
§ Ms. RuddockTo ask the Secretary of State for Health if incoming calls to the London ambulance service are stacked by the operator before being connected; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. FreemanIncoming telephone calls to the London ambulance service are not stacked by an operator. All calls to the LAS central ambulance control are received by their automatic call distribution system which groups them in order of emergency. Within these groups calls are taken in the order that they are received when an operator becomes available. If the hon. Member would like to know more about the capability of the computer which controls the LAS telephone system, and the information which it can provide, she may wish to contact South West Thames regional health authority which manages the service.