HC Deb 31 March 1993 vol 222 cc309-11W
Mr. Galbraith

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland (1) if he will place in the Library the assessments made of the likely effectiveness of the paramedic ambulance service before its introduction;

(2) what assessment he has made of the effect of the paramedic ambulance service on mortality and morbidity of the patients previously managed by the ambulance service;

(3) what assessments are currently being made of the effectiveness of the paramedic ambulance service; and if they will be made public.

Mr. Stewart

Pre-hospital care is provided by GPs, ambulance staff or hospital outreach teams and research has shown that rapid response by skilled staff to a seriously ill patient enhances recovery and survival. Ambulance staff are generally the first NHS response to patients in an emergency and it was for this reason that training in more advanced lifesaving techniques was introduced to provide a better standard of pre-hospital care for patients.

The Scottish ambulance service has appointed a consultant medical director who is an experienced consultant in accident and emergency medicine. He is responsible for supervising the training arrangements for all extended trained ambulance staff throughout Scotland and for the audit of the outcomes of their interventions in individual cases. Arrangements are in place for measuring the outcome of patients defibrillated by SAS staff. Measuring the outcome of ambulance staff intervention in other types of cases requires link-up with hospital records and and the consultant medical director is involved in identifying the means of linking the ambulance patient report form with the Scottish NHS clinical information systems.

In line with the rest of United Kingdom, records are kept of procedures which paramedics carry out in attending to patients, but these are not as yet linked to outcome. The intention is to measure clinical outcomes as part of quality assurance of ambulance service work. When the systems allow the results will be published.

Mr. Welsh

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what was the cost of ambulance provision in Angus district, for each hospital, in each of the past five years.

Mr. Stewart

[holding answer 30 March 1993]: Ambulance provision to any part of Scotland is not based on the number of hospitals in any particular district. In 1992–93 the annual direct cost of ambulance provision in the Angus area will be £840,000. Information relating to earlier years is not readily available.

Mr. Welsh

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what extra ambulance provision is planned as a consequence of Tayside health board's acute services review.

Mr. Stewart

[holding answer 30 March 1993]: Until the board has made a decision on the future of acute services in the area it is not possible to determine what changes might be required to the ambulance service.

Mr. Welsh

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many single and double-manned ambulances are currently available in Angus district.

Mr. Stewart

[holding answer 30 March 1993]: There are eight double-manned and two single-manned accident and emergency ambulances and seven single-manned non-emergency patient transport vehicles.

Mr. Welsh

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what discussions have taken place with Tayside health board on the subject of ambulance services in connection with Tayside health board's acute services review.

Mr. Stewart

[holding answer 30 March 1993]: Officials from the Scottish Office Home and Health Department, Tayside health board and the Scottish ambulance service met on 10 February to discuss the impact on ambulance services in Angus of the options set out in the board's consultation document on its review of acute services.

Mr. Welsh

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many ambulances and ambulance crews are currently available in Angus district; and what were the comparable figures for each of the past five years.

Mr. Stewart

[holding answer 30 March 1993]: There are currently 17 ambulances and 35 ambulance staff serving the Angus area. Staffing levels have increased by 30 per cent. since 1991. Other information over the past five years is not readily available.