FOI 26-274 Neonatal deaths during transfers
Freedom of Information Request
- Reference
- FOI 26-274 Neonatal deaths during transfers
- Request Date
- 18 Jun 2026
- Response Date
- 26 Jun 2026
- Information Requested
I’m looking to have data on when a neonatal death has happened in transit when transferring from Local Neonatal Units (LNU) (Level 2) & Level 1 in Scotland to a Level 3 NICU in Scotland and to England due to no available cots. From 2020 to present.
- Response
Your request contains a number of distinct elements. Specifically, it asks us to identify:
- whether a neonatal death occurred;
- whether that death took place in transit during a transfer between specified levels of neonatal units; and
- whether the transfer took place due to a lack of available cots.
While the Scottish Ambulance Service records certain information relating to neonatal patients and transfer activity, we do not hold a single recorded dataset that links all of these elements.
In particular:
- although patient age and outcome information may be recorded, our systems do not allow us to identify whether a death occurred specifically during transport (i.e. “in transit”);
- the level of the referring and receiving neonatal units is not recorded in a way that allows reporting aligned to Level 1, Level 2 or Level 3 classifications; and
- the reason for transfer, including whether it was due to “no available cots”, is not held in a structured or searchable format.
In order to provide the information requested, it would be necessary to carry out a detailed review of individual patient and clinical records to determine whether each of these criteria applied. This would require the application of complex skill and judgement and would result in the creation of new information, rather than the retrieval of information already held.
Under section 17(1) of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002, the Scottish Ambulance Service therefore confirms that it does not hold the information requested.
