The Service are not achieving all response time targets. New performance measures could be helpful to indicate the Service's contribution to healthcare improvements, for response times for vehicle and crew deployment and productivity and for control room performance. The Scottish Ambulance Service cost some 86 million in 1998-99. 487,000 emergency and urgent ambulance responses were made in 1998-1999. 999 ambulance response time targets measure the proportion of ambulances getting to incidents within specified times from receipt of a 999 call.
Different targets apply to different parts of Scotland dependent on population density.
The Comptroller and Auditor General , Sir John Bourn, is the head of the National Audit Office employing some 750 staff. He and the NAO are totally independent of Government. Future auditing arrangements in Scotland will be changing following the Scotland Act 1998. The Act provides for the appointment of an Auditor General for Scotland who will become responsible for financial and value for money audits across much of the public sector in Scotland, and reporting the results to the Scottish Parliament. This report has been prepared and presented to the Scottish Parliament under arrangements for the transitional financial year for the Scottish Parliament ending 31 March 2000.