HC Deb 02 May 2002 vol 384 c1007W
Mr. Wilshire

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will publish a list of ambulance service reviews carried out in south-east England in the last five years, stating(a) when each began, (b) when each was conducted, (c) how much each cost and (d) how much was spent on consultants on each occasion. [53914]

Ms Blears

In 1999 the national health service executive's south-east regional office first asked ambulance trusts in the south-east to review their structures to ascertain whether their number and size were appropriate to enable them to fulfil core duties, including emergency services, effectively. This culminated in formal proposals for a review of ambulance service in the region which were circulated for public consultation between May and September 2001.

As a result of the consultation it was announced on 15 January 2002 that health authorities, together with their primary care trusts, would review the position of their local ambulance services. They will make recommendations to the Director of Health and Social Care for the south, by September 2002, about how ambulance services should he organised in the future. This is the only review conducted centrally. Each ambulance trust also reviewed its service in terms of performance standards.

Information on local reviews of ambulance services is not collected centrally.

No additional work force costs were incurred as most of the work in connection with the review of ambulance services in the south-east has been carried out by existing civil servants at the Department and staff at health authorities and trusts. Additional costs were incurred for printing and the hire of, for example, church halls, for public meetings. Consultants KPMG were also involved in some service reviews. However, the wide ranging nature of the process and the number of organisations involved have meant that no central collation of costs was made.