(b)
50
It should be noted that in responding to ambulance calls, priority is always given to emergency calls.
Our target is for 95% of emergency calls to be reached within a ten minutes' travel time. The percentage of emergency calls which have attained the target travel time in the past three years is -
Year
1995
1994
* 1993
% emergency calls reached within target travel time
89.5
91.7
92.5
(c)
The decrease in 1995 was mainly due to deteriorating traffic conditions, long travelling distances in the New Territories and the increased number of emergency calls. The unusual number of disruptions caused by typhoons, rainstorms, flooding and road closures in the second and third quarters of 1995 also had a significant impact on performance.
Government remains committed to achieving the target set in the Performance Pledge. The Government commissioned a Consultancy Study on Emergency Ambulance Service last year to identify ways to achieve cost-effective improvements in the provision of emergency ambulance services. A list of improvement measures recommended and which the Fire Services Department has already implemented is at the Annex. These measures, and the completion of the hiving off programme of non-emergency ambulance services to the Hospital Authority, resulted in an improvement in performance in the last quarter of 1995 to 90.3%. Other measures which require more detailed examination and longer timeframes to implement are being considered. These measures include further efficiency improvements, improvements in staffing levels and development of further ambulance depot facilities in areas of increased local demand.