§ Tim LoughtonTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what measures are in place to stop the misuse of ambulance emergency services by the general public for non-urgent treatment. [24670]
§ Ms Blears[holding answer 8 January 2002]: A number of national health service ambulance trusts have undertaken work to educate their local population about appropriate use of emergency ambulance services.
A fully crewed frontline ambulance will always be sent to life-threatening emergencies. However, ambulance services do not have to send an ambulance vehicle in response to 999 calls which do not require emergency care. Such calls will continue to receive a consistent and appropriate response based on national clinical standards.