FOI 26-320 Patient Transport Services and Private Companies
Freedom of Information Request
- Reference
- FOI 26-320 Patient Transport Services and Private Companies
- Request Date
- 18 Aug 2026
- Response Date
- 08 Sep 2026
- Information Requested
- How many non-NHS organisations have you employed in each of the last fivefinancial yearsto deliver non-urgent patient transport services?
Non-NHS organisations should include charities, not for profits, community interest companies and private companies.
The figures should cover the following 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 deliver non-urgent patient transport services?
-- Please name all such organisations, including charities, not for profits, community interest companies and private companies
- Which non-NHS organisations did you use ini) 2020/21 and ii) 2024/25 to deliver non-urgent patient transport services?
-- Please name all such organisations, including charities, not for profits, community interest companies and private companies
How many non-urgent patient transport journeys did you provide during thefinancial years 2020/21, 2021/22, 2022/23, 2023/24 and 2024/25?
How many non-urgent patient transport journeys were provided by a) one of your crews or b) the crew of a charity, not for profit or community interest company or c) the crew of a private company?
The figures should include a breakdown for each of the following financial years:
- i) 2020/21
- ii) 2021/22
iii) 2022/23
- iv) 2023/24
- v) 2024/25
- Response
- How many non-NHS organisations have you employed in each of the last fivefinancial yearsto deliver non-urgent patient transport services?
Non-NHS organisations should include charities, not for profits, community interest companies and private companies.
The Scottish Ambulance Service does not hold this information in a format that allows accurate reporting by financial year. However, we have identified suppliers associated with patient transport and Patient Transport Service (PTS) activity from our financial records and can provide the following calendar year figures:
Year
Number of Non-NHS Organisations
2020
5*
2021
4*
2022
18*
2023
19*
2024
19*
2025
19*
*These figures exclude NHS organisations.
- Which non-NHS organisations do you currently use to deliver non-urgent patient transport services?
-- Please name all such organisations, including charities, not for profits, community interest companies and private companies
The organisations identified within our records during 2026 (to 30 June 2026) 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
- St John Angus and Dundee
- Tele Taxis
*Subject to confirmation that any services provided related to non-urgent patient transport activity.
- Which non-NHS organisations did you use ini) 2020/21 and ii) 2024/25 to deliver non-urgent patient transport services?
-- Please name all such organisations, including charities, not for profits, community interest companies and private companies
The Scottish Ambulance Service does not hold this information in a format that allows accurate reporting by financial year. However, based on calendar year records:
2020
- Aberdeen Taxis
- British Red Cross
- David Rendall
- Maritime and Coastguard Agency*
- St John Ambulance
- St John Angus and Dundee
2024
- Aberdeen Taxis
- Alpha Taxis (Inverurie) Ltd
- British Red Cross
- Central Taxis Aberdeen
- Central Taxis Edinburgh
- Computer Cab (Aberdeen) Ltd
- David Rendall
- East Kilbride Taxi Owners Association
- Express Taxis
- Kininmonth Cabs Ltd
- Maritime and Coastguard Agency*
- McLeans Taxis
- Moray Taxis
- Penny Cars
- Perth Radio Taxis Ltd
- Portsoy Taxis Ltd
- Rainbow City Taxis Ltd
- St John Angus and Dundee
- Tele Taxis
*Subject to confirmation that any services provided related to non-urgent patient transport activity.
- How many non-urgent patient transport journeys did you provide during thefinancial years2020/21, 2021/22, 2022/23, 2023/24 and 2024/25?
Please see the table below detailing the non-urgent patient transport journeys for each financial year requested, this has been broken down by the total journey count for each year, how many journeys were started, how many journeys were cancelled (by the patient or by SAS), the total number of aborted journeys and the total number of completed journeys.
- How many non-urgent patient transport journeys were provided by a) one of your crews or b) the crew of a charity, not for profit or community interest company or c) the crew of a private company?
The Scottish Ambulance Service does not hold this information. While we record the number of Patient Transport Service (PTS) journeys undertaken, the reporting information held within our systems does not identify or categorise journeys by the type of organisation or crew that carried them out. As a result, we are unable to determine how many journeys were undertaken by SAS crews, charitable/not-for-profit providers, or private companies.
Under section 17(1) of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002, I must therefore give you notice that this information is not held.
