FOI 26-094 September NHS24 Calls Test of Change
Freedom of Information Request
- Reference
- FOI 26-094 September NHS24 Calls Test of Change
- Request Date
- 20 Feb 2026
- Response Date
- 01 Apr 2026
- Information Requested
In September 2025 the Scottish Ambulance Service undertook a “Test of Change” relating to NHS24 incidents, whereby certain NHS24 calls were reviewed by Integrated Clinical Hub clinicians prior to dispatch.
Please provide the following:
- The full report, summary report, or any formal evaluation document produced following this Test of Change.
- Any data collected as part of the Test of Change, including but not limited to:
- total number of NHS24 incidents reviewed,
- number and proportion not requiring ambulance dispatch following review,
- number allocated to alternative pathways,
- number resulting in Timed Admission responses,
- any changes in conveyance rates compared to baseline.
- Any internal briefing papers, board papers, governance papers, or presentations discussing the outcomes or findings of this Test of Change.
- The defined start and end dates of the Test of Change and the geographical areas involved.
If no formal report was produced, please confirm this under Section 17 of the Act and provide any recorded outcome summaries or communications shared with staff.
- The full report, summary report, or any formal evaluation document produced following this Test of Change.
- Response
Q1 – Please see attached the Summary Note created which provides a review and outcomes from NHS24 Test of Change September 2025.
Q2 – The summary note details the following data collected as part of the Test of Change
- 1382 incidents in total were passed from NHS24
- The Summary note records that of the 1007 NHS24 incidents managed within Teal, 520 (51.6%) did not require ambulance attendance.
- 89 patients were identified as suitable for an alternative pathway
- 97 one-hour Timed Admissions were received from NHS24 during the Test of Change period. A further 34 patients did not require an emergency response and instead a timed response was deemed appropriate.
- SAS does not hold within these documents a recorded analysis comparing conveyance rates during the Test of Change to an agreed baseline period in the form requested. To the extent that this comparative analysis is not held, it is for this reason we have applied section 17(1) of FOISA (information not held).
All other data gathered during the analysis of the September 2025 NHS24 Test of Change is provided in the summary note, including Forecast Vs Actual demand volumes.
Q3 – The Scottish Ambulance Service holds internal communications that discuss the purpose and outcomes of the Test of Change, which are provided in the Staff Communications document.
Beyond the attached summary note and staff communications provided, the Scottish Ambulance Service does not hold any further internal briefing papers, governance papers, board papers or presentations within the scope of your request.
Q4 – The summary note records that the Test of Change was carried out from 26th September 2025 08:00 to 30th September 2025 06:00. The Test of Change applied across Scotland and was national in scope, as NHS 24 and the Integrated Clinical Hub both operate nationally.
- Response Documents
