Overview

This bill mandates that ambulance services in England publish more detailed and localized reports on their response times. The aim is to increase transparency and accountability by making this information readily available online.

Description

The Ambulance Response Times (Local Reporting) Act 2010 requires the Secretary of State to create regulations by December 31, 2010. These regulations will compel Ambulance Trusts in England to publish monthly online reports within two weeks of the month's end. These reports must include:

• Category A, B, and C ambulance response times, broken down by Primary Care Trust area and postcode.
• Detailed explanations for all incidents where the target response time was missed (the margin for missing the target will be defined in the regulations).

The definitions of response time categories will be based on the Department of Health's Central Return Form KA34. The regulations can include additional, related provisions as deemed necessary by the Secretary of State. These regulations will be subject to parliamentary approval.

The Act comes into effect six months after its passing and applies to England and Wales.

Government Spending

The bill doesn't directly specify any government spending figures. The cost will likely be associated with the implementation of the new reporting requirements by Ambulance Trusts and any potential administrative costs within the Department of Health to oversee compliance with the new regulations.

Groups Affected

• Ambulance Trusts in England: They will be directly responsible for collecting and publishing the detailed response time data.
• The Public: Will have greater access to information on ambulance response times in their local areas, enabling better scrutiny of ambulance service performance.
• Primary Care Trusts: Will receive localized data that may assist in healthcare planning and resource allocation.
• Parliament: Will have the power to review and potentially overturn the regulations.

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