FOI 26-407 Dr Gray's Patient Transport Discharge Journeys

Freedom of Information Request

Reference
FOI 26-407 Dr Gray's Patient Transport Discharge Journeys
Request Date
07 Sep 2026
Response Date
23 Sep 2026
Information Requested

I am writing to request information under the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 regarding Patient Transport Service (PTS) activity associated with Dr Gray’s Hospital, Elgin. 

I would be grateful if you could provide the following information for each of the financial years 2023/24, 2024/25 and 2025/26. If finalised information for 2025/26 is not yet available, please provide the latest available data. For PTS journeys originating from Dr Gray’s Hospital, please provide: 

  1. The total number of completed PTS journeys from Dr Gray’s Hospital. 
  2. The number of these journeys where the patient was being discharged from hospital. 
  3. The number of journeys from Dr Gray’s Hospital where the destination was: * the patient’s usual home address; * a care/nursing home; * a community hospital; * another acute hospital; or * another destination, if recorded. 
  4. Where recorded, the number of patients requiring: * wheelchair transport; * stretcher transport; * walking/seated transport; * assistance from more than one member of staff; and * any other specialist mobility provision. 
  5. If possible, please provide the number of completed discharge journeys from Dr Gray’s Hospital broken down by month. 
  6. If held, please provide the number of discharge journeys broken down by approximate collection/departure time, for example: * 06:00–12:00; * 12:00–16:00; * 16:00–20:00; * 20:00–00:00; and * 00:00–06:00. 
  7. The average journey distance or mileage for PTS discharge journeys originating from Dr Gray’s Hospital, if this information is readily available. 
  8. The number of requested PTS journeys from Dr Gray’s Hospital that were: * cancelled; * declined; * unable to be resourced; or * otherwise not completed by the Patient Transport Service. 
  9. If recorded, the average or median time between the requested collection time and actual collection time for discharge journeys from Dr Gray’s Hospital. 
  10. If recorded, the number of discharge journeys where the patient was ready for discharge but transport was not available at the originally requested time. 
Response
  1. The total number of completed PTS journeys from Dr Gray’s Hospital. 

Please see the attached sheet tab named ‘Completed Journeys’ for the total number of completed Patient Transport journeys from Dr Gray’s hospital broken down by each financial year requested. 

 

  1. The number of these journeys where the patient was being discharged from hospital.

Please see the attached sheet tab named ‘Completed Discharges’ for the total number of completed Patient Transport discharges from Dr Gray’s hospital broken down by each financial year requested. 

 

  1. The number of journeys from Dr Gray’s Hospital where the destination was: * the patient’s usual home address; * a care/nursing home; * a community hospital; * another acute hospital; or * another destination, if recorded. 

The Scottish Ambulance Service does not hold destination information in a format that enables journeys to be categorised as the patient's usual home address, a care/nursing home, or a community hospital. The information is recorded at an individual location level and cannot be reliably grouped into the categories requested without creating new information. We are therefore only able to provide the number of completed Patient Transport journeys where the destination was recorded as either another hospital or a non-hospital destination, as shown in the attached spreadsheet tab titled 'To Destination'. 

 

  1. Where recorded, the number of patients requiring: * wheelchair transport; * stretcher transport; * walking/seated transport; * assistance from more than one member of staff; and * any other specialist mobility provision. 

Please see the attached sheet tab named ‘4.Mobility’ detailing the total number of patient transport journeys from Dr Gray's Hospital broken down by the type of mobility provision for each of the financial years requested. 

 

  1. If possible, please provide the number of completed discharge journeys from Dr Gray’s Hospital broken down by month. 

Please see the attached sheet tab named ‘5.Monthly’ to see the total number of completed discharge journeys broken down month. 

 

  1. If held, please provide the number of discharge journeys broken down by approximate collection/departure time, for example: * 06:00–12:00; * 12:00–16:00; * 16:00–20:00; * 20:00–00:00; and * 00:00–06:00. 

Please see the attached sheet tab named ‘6.Pick up Time’’ to see the total number of completed discharge journeys broken down by the time of day/departure times requested.  Please note that some journeys are recorded as 'Unknown'. This reflects instances where a valid pick-up/departure time was not available in the source system and therefore could not be allocated to one of the requested time periods. 

 

  1. The average journey distance or mileage for PTS discharge journeys originating from Dr Gray’s Hospital, if this information is readily available. 

The Scottish Ambulance Service does not hold information on journey distance or mileage for Patient Transport Services. As this information is not recorded, we are unable to provide the average journey distance or mileage requested. To do so would require the creation of new information through manual analysis and the application of judgement to individual journey records. It is for this reason I have applied section 17 of the Freedom of Information Scotland Act 2002 as information not held. 

 

 

 

  1. The number of requested PTS journeys from Dr Gray’s Hospital that were: * cancelled; * declined; * unable to be resourced; or * otherwise not completed by the Patient Transport Service. 

Please see the attached sheet tab named ‘8. Cancels and Aborts’ to see the total number of discharge journeys that were either cancelled or aborted broken down by financial year requested. 

 

  1. If recorded, the average or median time between the requested collection time and actual collection time for discharge journeys from Dr Gray’s Hospital.

The Scottish Ambulance Service does not hold recorded information that would allow us to calculate the average or median time between the requested collection time and actual collection time for discharge journeys from Dr Gray’s Hospital. The available Patient Ready Time data is incomplete, having been recorded for fewer than 1% of relevant journeys. Producing this information would therefore require the creation of new information. It is for this reason we have applied section 17 of the Freedom of Information Scotland Act 2002 as information not held. 

 

  1. If recorded, the number of discharge journeys where the patient was ready for discharge but transport was not available at the originally requested time.

The Scottish Ambulance Service does not hold recorded information that would allow us to determine whether a delay between a patient's readiness for discharge and collection was due to transport availability. It is for this reason we have applied section 17 of the Freedom of Information Scotland Act 2002 as information not held. 

Response Documents

FOI 407 26 (1) (XLSX | 17KB)

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