HC Deb 28 July 1989 vol 157 cc986-7W
Mr. Corbyn

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will state the number of ambulance vehicles available for service in the London ambulance service area each week since the beginning of the current year, the number that had no drivers and the number of occasions that were emergency only.

Mr. Freeman

The details of emergency ambulance availability for the period 8 January to 23 July 1989 are shown in the table. Figures for non-emergency ambulances are not shown because of the variety of vehicles used:

Week ending Planned vehicles Unmanned vehicles 1Single-manned vehicles
8 January 1989 2,864 146 63
15 January 1989 2,864 151 50
22 January 1989 2,864 112 49
29 January 1989 2,864 124 43
5 February 1989 2,864 153 56
12 February 1989 2,864 140 66
19 February 1989 2,864 158 52
26 February 1989 2,864 180 60
5 March 1989 2,905 181 52
12 March 1989 2,905 196 66
19 March 1989 2,905 191 66
26 March 2,905 169 47
2 April 1989 2,905 217 69
9 April 1989 2,905 158 65
16 April 1989 2,905 120 57
23 April 1989 2,905 188 53
30 April 1989 2,905 183 45
7 May 1989 2,905 157 69
14 May 1989 2,905 181 45
21 May 1989 2,905 196 60
28 May 1989 2,905 158 57
4 June 1989 2,905 248 76
11 June 1989 2,905 211 49
18 June 1989 2,905 300 63
25 June 1989 2,905 273 88
2 July 1989 2,905 267 76
9 July 1989 2,905 228 66
16 July 1989 2,905 228 58
23 July 1989 2,905 221 70
1 The single-manned vehicles can be used if a fully-manned vehicle is not available.

Mr. Corbyn

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will state the number of occasions, and the dates concerned, when the London ambulance service was ouside the 14-minute Department of Health guideline for emergency responses since January 1989.

Mr. Freeman

The information is not available in the format requested. However, the table shows the performance by month from January 1989:

Month Percentage responded to within 14 minutes Number of minutes to respond to 95 per cent, of calls
January 80 20
February 77 20
March 77 20
April 77 21
May 80 19

Mr. Corbyn

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what action he has taken following the ACAS report on the London ambulance service staffing; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Freeman

The ACAS report on stress in the London ambulance service (LAS) was welcomed by LAS management. Working groups comprising LAS managers, staff representatives and representatives of ACAS have been considering how best to implement the recommendations and have been making excellent progress. The working groups are expected to complete their work in September 1989.