FOI 26-013 Longest Response Times 2025
Freedom of Information Request
- Reference
- FOI 26-013 Longest Response Times 2025
- Request Date
- 06 Jan 2026
- Response Date
- 29 Jan 2026
- Information Requested
I would like to know about the longest wait for an ambulance in 2025 for each type of emergency.
In other words in 2025, please reveal how longest period it took for an ambulance to arrive for each type of category of emergency that the SAS recognises.
Ideally a table that shows that for X emergency [potential stroke, for example] the longest period for an ambulance to arrive for Y minutes.
If all of this is possible to provide, then please also provide it for 2024 and 2023.- Response
Important information to consider when interpreting 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. For example, a call may start out as a yellow call, subsequently be upgraded to a purple call some time later, but only the total time from the first call received is shown. The starting point is always set for the colour category first determined, not the final colour category assigned. Where delays occur, clinical advisors maintain contact with the patient, checking their condition on an ongoing basis, and upgrading when appropriate.
The severity of harm (acuity) has been given as how the call was categorised; call categories are defined in the following way:
Purple: Our most critically ill patients. This is where a patient is identified as having a 10% or more chance of having a cardiac arrest. The actual cardiac arrest rate across this category is approximately 53%.
Red: Our next most serious category where a patient is identified as having a likelihood of cardiac arrest between 1% and 9.9%, or having a need for resuscitation interventions such as airway management above 2%. Currently the cardiac arrest rate in this category is approximately 1.5%.
Amber: where a patient is likely to need diagnosis and transport to hospital or specialist care. The cardiac arrest rates for all of these codes is less than 0.5%.
Yellow: a patient who has a need for care but has a very low likelihood of requiring life-saving interventions. For example, patients who have tripped or fallen but not sustained any serious injury
Please see attached excel spreadsheet detailing the response times for each of the years requested. Each year has the breakdown by incident acuity.
Incidents Attended
Unscheduled care incidents handled by SAS which were attended by a SAS crew.
Number
Presented by the Health Board Area of the Incident1
Incidents Conveyed
Unscheduled care incidents handled by SAS which were attended by a SAS crew and the patient conveyed to hospital.
Number
Presented by the Health Board Area of the Incident1
Median Response Time
The time in which 50% of patients are reached by a SAS crew.
hh:mm:ss
Presented by the Health Board Area of the Incident1
90th Percentile Response Time
The time in which 90% of patients are reached by a SAS crew.
hh:mm:ss
Presented by the Health Board Area of the Incident1
- Response Documents
