London Ambulance Services (Hansard, 11 February 1991)

§ Mr. Spearing
To ask the Secretary of State for Health if, pursuant to his answer of 28 January,Official Report, column 425, which person or body authorised the reduced standard of response time applicable to ambulances in Greater London; what consultations he had and with which bodies or persons concerning the adoption of this standard; and on what date it will be adopted.

§ Mr. Dorrell
As indicated in my reply to the hon. Member on 21 January, at column75, the management executive advised health authorities of the adjusted recommended response times. Consultations took place with representatives of regional general managers and regional ambulance officers. It is for individual ambulance authorities to decide whether to adopt the recommended standards.

§ Mr. Spearing
To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what is the number of(a) emergency and (b) non-emergency ambulance vehicles allocated to each of the ambulance stations of the London ambulance service, or held in servicing or reserve, as at 31 December 1990; and where such statistics are publicly available;
(2) what is the number of (a) trainee ambulance personnel and (b) qualified ambulance personnel in the employ of the London ambulance service at the latest convenient date; and how many with para-medical qualifications receive gross salaries of £13,000 per annum or more;
(3) if he will list the names of any ambulance stations of the emergency service of the London ambulance service which were unmanned for any period in the month of January, together with the total period and number of occasions of any such occurrence;
(4) what was the number of emergency ambulances of the London ambulance service manned and on duty for each of the shifts on each day of the week 7 to 13 January.

§ Mr. Dorrell
The information requested is not held centrally. The management of the London ambulance service is the responsibility of the London ambulance service board. The hon. Member may wish to write to Mr. James Harris, the chairman of board, for details.

§ Mr. Spearing
To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is the number of(a) emergency and (b) non-emergency ambulance vehicles in the ownership of the London ambulance service; what was the number of vehicles constructed in each category in each year since 1981; and where such information is publicly available.
347W

§ Mr. Dorrell
The table shows the number of emergency and non-emergency vehicles in the ownership of the London ambulance service. Data are not collected centrally on the number of vehicles constructed/commissioned in each category. The management of the

Ambulance service vehicles for London ambulance service

1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89

Ambulances

2-trolley emergency 358 360 387 360

2-trolley dual purpose — — — —

Sitting case seats only (under 14) 396 338 286 265

Sitting case stretcher capacity — — — —

Sitting case seats plus lift mechanism 210 240 248 269

Car (with or without stretcher or wheelchair capacity) — — — —

Bus—14 or more seats with or without stretcher or wheelchair capacity — — — —

Total ambulance service vehicles used to transport patients 966 938 921 894

Other ambulance service vehicles

Major incident vehicles, radio and/or equipment vehicles (trailers, caravans, etc.) 7 7 8 5

Recovery vehicles (Land Rover type or converted ambulance) 7 7 8 6

Other ambulance service vehicles 50 54 57 58

Total other ambulance service vehicles 64 68 73 69

Total ambulance service vehicles 1,030 1,006 994 963

§ Mr. Spearing
To ask the Secretary of State for Health what was the percentage of emergency calls received by the London ambulance service which showed response times within a period of 14 minutes for each day of December 1990.

§ Mr. Dorrell
Data are only available centrally on a financial year basis. In 1989–90 the London ambulance service responded to 78.8 per cent. of emergency calls within 14 minutes. The management of the London ambulance service is the responsibility of the London ambulance service board. The hon. Member may wish to write to Mr. James Harris, the chairman, for details.

§ Mr. Spearing
To ask the Secretary of State for Health what inflation factor was applied to the funding of the London ambulance service between each of the financial years 1979–80 and 1989–90; and on what basis each was calculated.

§ Mr. Dorrell
For the years 1979–80 to 1989–90 the Department used the resource allocation working party formula—RAWP—to allocate resources to regions. The allocation included an element for service development and inflation as measured by the gross domestic product deflator. The South West Thames regional health authority has overall responsibility for the London ambulance service. The hon. Member may wish to write to Baroness Cumberlege, the chairman of South West Thames regional health authority, for details.

Ambulance service vehicles for London ambulance service
	1985–86	1986–87	1987–88	1988–89
Ambulances
2-trolley emergency	358	360	387	360
2-trolley dual purpose	—	—	—	—
Sitting case seats only (under 14)	396	338	286	265
Sitting case stretcher capacity	—	—	—	—
Sitting case seats plus lift mechanism	210	240	248	269
Car (with or without stretcher or wheelchair capacity)	—	—	—	—
Bus—14 or more seats with or without stretcher or wheelchair capacity	—	—	—	—
Total ambulance service vehicles used to transport patients	966	938	921	894
Other ambulance service vehicles
Major incident vehicles, radio and/or equipment vehicles (trailers, caravans, etc.)	7	7	8	5
Recovery vehicles (Land Rover type or converted ambulance)	7	7	8	6
Other ambulance service vehicles	50	54	57	58
Total other ambulance service vehicles	64	68	73	69
Total ambulance service vehicles	1,030	1,006	994	963