FOI 25-25-136 Avg, and Longest Response and Turnaround Times
Freedom of Information Request
- Reference
- FOI 25-25-136 Avg, and Longest Response and Turnaround Times
- Request Date
- 18 Mar 2025
- Response Date
- 07 Apr 2025
- Information Requested
I am looking for information regarding both the average and longest waiting times for ambulances and the turnaround times for ambulances arriving at hospitals and the length of time they had to wait before handing over to colleagues in the Emergency Dept. As such, please provide the following information:
- The average and longest waiting times for an ambulance to arrive at a purple or red incident, from 01/01/2025 to the most recent stats available, with a breakdown by each week and location.
- Emergency Hospital Turnaround Times, from 01/01/2025 to the most recent stats available.
- Breakdown of turnaround times in every Emergency Dept across Scotland, incl. information on the longest waits, from 01/01/2025 to the most recent stats available.
- Response
- The average and longest waiting times for an ambulance to arrive at a purple or red incident, from 01/01/2025 to the most recent stats available, with a breakdown by each week and location.
Please see the first tab on the attached sheet detailing the total incidents and average and longest response times for purple and red broken down by health board and each week from 01/01/2025 - 23/03/2025. The response times are provided in minutes.
Please note caution on the interpretation of this data. The response times show total time and do not factor in possible upgrading or downgrading that may occur depending on the patient condition. Times are inclusive of all areas, meaning, as a national service, times are inclusive of all types of locations. These will include areas that may have a difficult access and or in a remote location. Where delays occur, clinical advisors maintain contact with the patient, checking their condition on an ongoing basis, and upgrading when appropriate.
- Emergency Hospital Turnaround Times, from 01/01/2025 to the most recent stats available.
- Breakdown of turnaround times in every Emergency Dept across Scotland, incl. information on the longest waits, from 01/01/2025 to the most recent stats available.
The Service does record turnaround times, which is from when an ambulance arrives at hospital to the point of departure. These turnaround times are affected by a wide range of factors, including ambulance staff cleaning vehicles following patient transportation, supporting the ongoing care of the patient and on occasions providing statements to the police.
Please see the second tab on the attached sheet detailing average, median1, 90th percentile2 and longest turnaround times broken down by key hospitals for each week from 06/01/2025 - 23/03/2025. All times are given in minutes and seconds.
These turnaround times ARE NOT comparable to the handover times of other UK Ambulance Trusts.
Our local management teams are working closely with Health Boards to ensure that ambulances are released as quickly as possible.
For the given data, you will see that some of the figures are shown as, five or less than five, please note that this figure has been suppressed because the statistical value is less than five. The Scottish Ambulance service has a duty, under the Data Protection Act to avoid directly or indirectly revealing any personal details. It is therefore widely understood that provision of statistics on small numbers, five or less are statistically suppressed upon disclosure.
- Response Documents
