§ Mr. CohenTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what complaints in each of the last three years she has received about the London ambulance service allegedly being inadequate or at fault in individual cases where it has been called out; and in how many of those cases loss of life was involved.
§ Mr. SackvilleThe London ambulance service—LAS —is responsible for dealing with complaints about the service. It has a formal complaints procedure that ensures that complaints are dealt with in line with the patients charter. A number of complaints have been made about the LAS both to Ministers and direct to the LAS. I can assure the hon. Member that each complaint has been thoroughly investigated. Information on the number of cases that involve loss of life is not collected centrally.
§ Mr. CohenTo ask the Secretary of State for Health whether she will review the level of emergency ambulance cover for(a) Leyton and (b) London; and if she will make a statement.
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§ Mr. SackvilleThe London ambulance service is managed as a pan-London service. Resources available in individual geographic regions of the service are shared with other regions, as necessary. The LAS is currently reviewing manning levels and shift rosters covering the whole of London. Management information derived from the recently introduced computer-aided dispatch will further improve the ability of managers to match available resources to demands on the service.
§ Mr. SpearingTo ask the Secretary of State for Health for what reason a ceiling budget has been placed on the accident and emergency service of the London ambulance service; and if she will make this particular service demand led.
§ Mr. SackvilleLike all other ambulance services, the London ambulance service contracts to provide a full 24-hour accident and emergency service. All such services are expected to match income to expenditure, taking account of the demands placed upon them. The level of expenditure for 1992–93 has been agreed, and this includes real growth of £1 million.