FOI 26-282 Telephony Infrastructure
Freedom of Information Request
- Reference
- FOI 26-282 Telephony Infrastructure
- Request Date
- 25 Jun 2026
- Response Date
- 22 Jul 2026
- Information Requested
──────────────────────────────────────────
SECTION 1 — TELEPHONY INFRASTRUCTURE
──────────────────────────────────────────
1.1 What telephony system(s) does Scottish Ambulance Service currently use for inbound and outbound calls?
Please provide:
(a) Vendor / manufacturer name
(b) Product / platform name (e.g. Cisco Unified Communications Manager, Avaya Aura, Mitel MiVoice, Microsoft Teams Direct Routing, 8x8, RingCentral, Gamma, BT Cloud Voice)
(c) Version or generation currently in use
1.2 Is your telephony system:
(a) On-premise (hosted within your own data centre or server rooms)
(b) Cloud-based / hosted (vendor or third-party managed)
(c) Hybrid (combination of on-premise and cloud)
1.3 Approximately how many telephone lines and/or DDI (Direct Dial-In) numbers does Scottish Ambulance Service currently operate?
1.4 When was your current telephony system first installed or last substantially upgraded?
──────────────────────────────────────────
SECTION 2 — CONTACT CENTRE / PATIENT ACCESS
──────────────────────────────────────────
2.1 Does Scottish Ambulance Service operate a dedicated contact centre, patient access centre, or centralised switchboard function?
If yes, please provide:
(a) Name or primary function of the contact centre / access centre
(b) Communication channels currently supported (e.g. voice/telephone, email, webchat, SMS, social media, video)
(c) Contact centre platform or software used to manage queuing, routing, and agent interactions (e.g. Cisco UCCE / UCCX, Avaya Contact Centre, Genesys Cloud, NICE CXone / inContact, Amazon Connect, Salesforce Service Cloud, Freshdesk, Puzzel, Content Guru)
2.2 How many contact centre agent seats or licences does Scottish Ambulance Service currently hold?
2.3 What is the approximate annual inbound call volume handled by your contact centre or switchboard?
2.4 Does your organisation use an Interactive Voice Response (IVR) or automated call routing system? If yes, please provide the vendor and product name.
──────────────────────────────────────────
SECTION 3 — SUPPORT AND MAINTENANCE CONTRACTS
──────────────────────────────────────────
3.1 Who provides support and maintenance for your telephony and/or contact centre system(s)?
Please provide (for each system if more than one):
(a) Name of the support provider (vendor direct support or third-party maintenance organisation)
(b) Type of coverage (vendor support, third-party maintenance, or both)
(c) Approximate annual value of the support / maintenance contract
(d) Contract start date and expiry / renewal date
3.2 Are any significant telephony or contact centre contracts (including licences, maintenance, or managed service agreements) due for renewal within the next 24 months? If yes, please provide the contract category and approximate renewal date (full commercial detail is not required).
3.3 What procurement framework(s) did Scottish Ambulance Service use to procure its current telephony or contact centre solution(s)? (e.g. Crown Commercial Service (CCS) RM6116, NHS Shared Business Services, G-Cloud, Tech Products 4, direct award, competitive tender)
──────────────────────────────────────────
SECTION 4 — STAFFING
──────────────────────────────────────────
4.1 How many whole-time equivalent (WTE) staff are directly employed by Scottish Ambulance Service in contact centre, patient access centre, or switchboard roles?
4.2 Please provide a breakdown of contact centre / switchboard staff by job role or Agenda for Change (AfC) band (or equivalent). Specific names of individuals are not required; job title or band is sufficient.
4.3 Does Scottish Ambulance Service use any outsourced or third-party contact centre agents or managed service operators?
If yes, please provide:
(a) Approximate number of outsourced agent seats or FTEs
(b) Name of the outsourced provider
(c) Approximate annual cost of the outsourced arrangement
4.4 Does Scottish Ambulance Service have a named senior role responsible for contact centre or patient access operations? (e.g. Head of Contact Centre, Head of Patient Access, Director of Operations — name of individual not required, role title only)
──────────────────────────────────────────
SECTION 5 — FUTURE PLANS
──────────────────────────────────────────
5.1 Is Scottish Ambulance Service currently planning, evaluating, or actively procuring a replacement or substantial upgrade to its telephony or contact centre system within the next 24 months? If yes, please state the anticipated timeline and scope (e.g. full platform replacement, cloud migration, additional channel capability).
5.2 Has Scottish Ambulance Service completed or commissioned any review, business case, or digital roadmap covering telephony or contact centre transformation in the last two years?- Response
SECTION 1 — TELEPHONY INFRASTRUCTURE ──────────────────────────────────────────
1.1 What telephony system(s) does Scottish Ambulance Service currently use for inbound and outbound calls?
Please provide:
(a) Vendor / manufacturer name - Avaya (b) Product / platform name (e.g. Cisco Unified Communications Manager, Avaya Aura, Mitel MiVoice, Microsoft Teams Direct Routing, 8x8, RingCentral, Gamma, BT Cloud Voice) - Avaya CM (c) Version or generation currently in use – 10.1; with plans to move to 10.2 in the near future
1.2 Is your telephony system:
(a) On-premise (hosted within your own data centre or server rooms) - Yes (b) Cloud-based / hosted (vendor or third-party managed) - No (c) Hybrid (combination of on-premise and cloud) - No
1.3 Approximately how many telephone lines and/or DDI (Direct Dial-In) numbers does Scottish Ambulance Service currently operate? - 250
1.4 When was your current telephony system first installed or last substantially upgraded? - Went live 2021 and last upgrade 2023
──────────────────────────────────────────
SECTION 2 — CONTACT CENTRE / PATIENT ACCESS
──────────────────────────────────────────
2.1 Does Scottish Ambulance Service operate a dedicated contact centre, patient access centre, or centralised switchboard function?
If yes, please provide:
(a) Name or primary function of the contact centre / access centre – Avaya CM (b) Communication channels currently supported (e.g. voice/telephone, email, webchat, SMS, social media, video) - Voice Only (c) Contact centre platform or software used to manage queuing, routing, and agent interactions (e.g. Cisco UCCE / UCCX, Avaya Contact Centre, Genesys Cloud, NICE CXone / inContact, Amazon Connect, Salesforce Service Cloud, Freshdesk, Puzzel, Content Guru) - Avaya CM2.2 How many contact centre agent seats or licences does Scottish Ambulance Service currently hold? - 302
2.3 What is the approximate annual inbound call volume handled by your contact centre or switchboard? - Approximately 730,000 calls per annum.
2.4 Does your organisation use an Interactive Voice Response (IVR) or automated call routing system? If yes, please provide the vendor and product name. - Only within Avaya CM features
──────────────────────────────────────────
SECTION 3 — SUPPORT AND MAINTENANCE CONTRACTS
──────────────────────────────────────────
3.1 Who provides support and maintenance for your telephony and/or contact centre system(s)?
Please provide (for each system if more than one):
(a) Name of the support provider (vendor direct support or third-party maintenance organisation) - BT
(b) Type of coverage (vendor support, third-party maintenance, or both) - Managed Service (c) Approximate annual value of the support / maintenance contract - £440,000 per annum (d) Contract start date and expiry / renewal date - April 2025 - March 2027
3.2 Are any significant telephony or contact centre contracts (including licences, maintenance, or managed service agreements) due for renewal within the next 24 months? If yes, please provide the contract category and approximate renewal date (full commercial detail is not required). - Yes as noted in 3.1d above
3.3 What procurement framework(s) did Scottish Ambulance Service use to procure its current telephony or contact centre solution(s)? (e.g. Crown Commercial Service (CCS) RM6116, NHS Shared Business Services, G-Cloud, Tech Products 4, direct award, competitive tender)Contract Reference
Contract Title
Contracting process
SAS/2019/393
Telephony Maintenance Support
Competitive tender
SAS/2025/883
Telephone Switch System (Avaya CM Platform)
Direct Award - SWAN 2
──────────────────────────────────────────
SECTION 4 — STAFFING
──────────────────────────────────────────
4.1 How many whole-time equivalent (WTE) staff are directly employed by Scottish Ambulance Service in contact centre, patient access centre, or switchboard roles? - 578.92 (WTE)
4.2 Please provide a breakdown of contact centre / switchboard staff by job role or Agenda for Change (AfC) band (or equivalent). Specific names of individuals are not required; job title or band is sufficient.WTE By Band: Band 3: 249.52; Band 4: 165.50; Band 5: 66.77; Band 6: 38.63; Band 7: 47.47; Band 8A: 6.00; Band 8B: 3.00; Band 8C: 2.03
Headcount by Band: Band 3: 278; Band 4: 176; Band 5: 70; Band 6: 43; Band 7: 51; Band 8A: 6; Band 8B: 3; Band 8C: 2
4.3 Does Scottish Ambulance Service use any outsourced or third-party contact centre agents or managed service operators? - All calls are answered by internally employed NHS trained staff. If yes, please provide:
(a) Approximate number of outsourced agent seats or FTEs – N/A (b) Name of the outsourced provider – N/A (c) Approximate annual cost of the outsourced arrangement – N/A
4.4 Does Scottish Ambulance Service have a named senior role responsible for contact centre or patient access operations? (e.g. Head of Contact Centre, Head of Patient Access, Director of Operations — name of individual not required, role title only) - Director of National Operations
──────────────────────────────────────────
SECTION 5 — FUTURE PLANS
──────────────────────────────────────────
5.1 Is Scottish Ambulance Service currently planning, evaluating, or actively procuring a replacement or substantial upgrade to its telephony or contact centre system within the next 24 months? If yes, please state the anticipated timeline and scope (e.g. full platform replacement, cloud migration, additional channel capability). - No
5.2 Has Scottish Ambulance Service completed or commissioned any review, business case, or digital roadmap covering telephony or contact centre transformation in the last two years? - No
