FOI 26-323 Non-NHS organisations responding to 999 incidents
Freedom of Information Request
- Reference
- FOI 26-323 Non-NHS organisations responding to 999 incidents
- Request Date
- 21 Jul 2026
- Response Date
- 18 Aug 2026
- Information Requested
I am writing to request the following information under the Freedom of Information Act 2000.
- How many non-NHS organisations have you employed in each of the last five years to answer 999 calls?Non NHSorganisations should include charities, not for profits, community interest companies and private companies. The figures should cover the following financial years: i) 2020/21, ii) 2021/22, iii)2022/23, iv) 2023/24 v) 2024/25
- Which non-NHS organisations do you currently use to answer 999 calls? -- Please name all such organisations - including charities, not for profits, community interestcompaniesand private companies
- Which non-NHS organisations did you use in 2020/21 to answer 999 calls? -- Please name all such organisations - including charities, not for profits, community interest companies and private companies
- How many 999 calls in total did you answer during the financial years 2020/21, 2021/22, 2022/23, 2023/24 and 2024/25?
5.. How many of your 999 calls were answered by a) one of your crews b) a crew of a charity/not for profit and c) the crew of a private company? The figures should cover the following financial years: i) 2020/21, ii) 2021/22, iii)2022/23, iv) 2023/24 v) 2024/25
*Clarification – answered calls means incidents responded to.
- Response
The Scottish Ambulance Service will always dispatch an ambulance for patients who require an ambulance intervention and/or monitoring on route to hospital. Taxis are only arranged after clinical assessment through our Integrated Clinical Hub or clinicians at scene, who have identified that a patient requires further assessment at hospital, it is safe and appropriate for the patient to travel by this method and not necessary for an emergency ambulance to transport them to hospital.
Since January 2024, use of taxis to convey patients to hospital accounted to 0.7% of all incidents managed by the Scottish Ambulance Service.The information provided below has been compiled from procurement records identifying non-NHS organisations engaged by the Service to support patient transport and emergency response activity during the relevant periods. The figures should be interpreted on that basis.
Q1 - Based on procurement records, the number of non-NHS organisations utilised was:
Financial Year*
Number of Non-NHS Organisations
2020/21
6
2021/22
5
2022/23
19
2023/24
20
2024/25
20
Q2 - The organisations identified within the most recent procurement records are:
- Aberdeen Taxis
- Alpha Taxis (Inverurie) Ltd
- Amvale Scotland Ltd
- Central Taxis Aberdeen
- Central Taxis Edinburgh
- DMG Specialist Transport Ltd
- East Kilbride Taxi Owners Association
- Express Taxis
- Inverness Taxi Drivers
- Kininmonth Cabs Ltd
- Maritime and Coastguard Agency
- Moray Taxis
- Penny Cars
- Perth Radio Taxis Ltd
- Portsoy Taxis Ltd
- Rainbow City Taxis Ltd
- Rob Scott
- Tele Taxis
Q3 - The organisations identified within the procurement records for the relevant period were:
- Aberdeen Taxis
- British Red Cross
- David Rendall
- Maritime and Coastguard Agency
- St John Ambulance
- St John Angus and Dundee
Q4 – How many 999 calls in total did you answer during the financial years 2020/21 to 2024/25?
Financial Year
Total Emergency Incidents
2020/21
612,353
2021/22
702,390
2022/23
691,284
2023/24
700,838
2024/25
724,811
Q5 – 5. How many of your 999 calls were answered by (a) an SAS crew, (b) a charity/not-for-profit crew and (c) a private company crew?
Financial Year
SAS Attended Incidents
British Red Cross (Charity) Attendances
Taxi (Private Company) Attendances
2020/21
493,296
9
0
2021/22
527,295
54
761
2022/23
520,813
83
3,021
2023/24
542,704
38
5,027
2024/25
548,676
13
3,624
Important Information to consider when interpreting this data
Please note that the figures above relate to emergency incidents only. British Red Cross and taxi attendances are not mutually exclusive from SAS attendances, as some incidents were attended by both an SAS resource and a British Red Cross or taxi resource. A non-attendance by an SAS crew does not mean that the incident was unmanaged. In such cases, patients will have been assessed by a trained clinician who determined the most appropriate response and care pathway based on the patient's clinical needs.
