§ Mr. WorthingtonTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what performance targets are set for the Scottish ambulance service for non-emergency calls. [1226]
§ Lord James Douglas-Hamilton[Holding answer 22 November 1995]: Non-emergency patients are taken to routine hospital appointments by the patient transport service provided by the Scottish Ambulance Service NHS trust. This service is purchased by NHS trusts to standards which are sensitive to local circumstances and are agreed as part of the contracting process. To monitor performance and identify possible improvements, each division of the Scottish Ambulance Service NHS trust conducts an annual patient satisfaction survey. In addition the accident and emergency service provided by the Scottish Ambulance Service NHS trust also deals with calls classified by general practitioners or other health care workers as urgent. In such cases the target is for 95 per cent. of patients to arrive at hospital no later than 15 minutes after the time agreed with the caller, this is typically one to two hours but is determined by the caller's assessment of the patients clinical need.