FOI 26-173 ScotSTAR Retrievals
Freedom of Information Request
- Reference
- FOI 26-173 ScotSTAR Retrievals
- Request Date
- 02 Apr 2026
- Response Date
- 16 Apr 2026
- Information Requested
Paediatric Retrievals only
- How many Paediatric retrievals did SCOTSTAR do in 2024, 2025 and 2026
- Can I have the answers broken down into years
- How many retrievals were there from each health board in 2024, 2025, 2026.
- Can this number be broken down further into monthly data for 2024 and 2025 and 2026.
Neonatal Retrievals Only
- How many Neonatal retrievals did SCOTSTAR do in 2024, 2025 and 2026
- Can I have the answers broken down into years
- How many retrievals were there departing from each health board 2024, 2025, 2026.
- How many retrievals back to their original health boards were there in 2024, 2025, 2026.
- Can this number be broken down further into monthly data for 2024 and 2025 and 2026.
- Response
Q1 & Q2 – Please see the attached sheet where tab 1 ‘Paeds’ contains two tables detailing the total number of Paediatric retrievals completed by ScotSTAR from 01/01/2024 - 31/03/2026; and the total number of Paediatric retrievals completed by ScotSTAR from 01/01/2024 - 31/03/2026 broken down by month and health board.
Q3 & Q4 – Please see the attached sheet where tab 2 ‘Neonatal’ contains two tables. The first details the total number of Neonatal retrievals were completed by ScotSTAR from 01.01.2024 - 31/03/2026; and the total number of Neonatal retrievals completed by ScotSTAR from 01/01/2024 - 31/03/2026 broken down by month and health board.
Q5 - The Scottish Ambulance Service does not hold recorded information that identifies whether a neonatal retrieval represents a return to a patient’s “original” Health Board, either on an annual or monthly basis. While SCOTSTAR records individual neonatal transport movements, including the referring and receiving hospitals for each retrieval, it does not record a definitive “original Health Board” for a patient, nor does it record whether subsequent transfers constitute a return to that Health Board. Neonatal patients may undergo multiple transfers during a single episode of care, and repatriation decisions are based on clinical need and proximity to the primary carer rather than the location of birth. As a result, a patient pathway does not necessarily involve a return to the Health Board where the baby was initially born or first treated. It is for this reason we have applied section 17 of the Freedom of Information Scotland Act 2002, as information not held.
For the given data, you will see that some of the figures are shown as, five or less than five, please note that this figure has been suppressed because the statistical value is less than five. The Scottish Ambulance service has a duty, under the Data Protection Act to avoid directly or indirectly revealing any personal details. It is therefore widely understood that provision of statistics on small numbers, five or less are statistically suppressed upon disclosure.
- Response Documents
