§ Mr. BurstowTo ask the Secretary of State for Health how many hospitals were on(a) red alert and (b) amber alert status in the last month; and if he will make a statement. [167408]
§ Mr. HuttonThis information is not held centrally. The Department does not use the terms amber or red alert. Some acute trusts use the terms to indicate how busy they are and consequently what escalation procedures need to be taken to reduce pressures. Such escalation procedures are locally agreed and activated by the trusts themselves. The Department does not routinely collect information on when escalation procedures are activated.