FOI 25-269 Patient's Pronounced Dead on Arrival
Freedom of Information Request
- Reference
- FOI 25-269 Patient's Pronounced Dead on Arrival
- Request Date
- 25 Jun 2025
- Response Date
- 11 Jul 2025
- Information Requested
Question 1: The number of incidents where your Trust has received an ambulance call out where the person is reported to be alive when the call is made to then being declared dead on arrival after your ambulance service attended the call in each of the financial years a) 2019/20, b) 2020/21, c) 2021/22, d) 2022/23, e) 2023/24, f) 2024/25
Question 2: In relation to the kind of incidents described in Question 1, how many of those incidents were deemed i) Category 1, ii) Category 2 in each of the financial years a) 2019/20, b) 2020/21, c) 2021/22, d) 2022/23, e) 2023/24, f) 2024/25 and what was the average response time for these incidents in minutes broken down by i.) Category 1, ii) Category 2 in each of the financial years a) 2019/20, b) 2020/21, c) 2021/22, d) 2022/23, e) 2023/24, f) 2024/25
Question 3: In relation to the kind of incidents described in Question 1, what was your Trusts longest response time in the year 2024/25 for an incident of this nature
- Response
Public authorities are not required to create information in order to answer a request. There’s a distinction
between creating new information, and compiling information. Where a request can be answered by
compiling information from readily-available resources held by the public authority, this is not the same as
creating new information. However, if collation of the information would require skill and complex
judgement, the information is not held.
The Scottish Ambulance Service does not have the data set to report on patients who are alive at the time of the original 999 call and later pronounced dead on arrival at the scene. It is for this reason we have applied section 17 of the Freedom of Information Scotland Act 2002, as information not held.
