FOI 26-332 ETI Scope of Practice
Freedom of Information Request
- Reference
- FOI 26-332 ETI Scope of Practice
- Request Date
- 24 Jul 2026
- Response Date
- 24 Aug 2026
- Information Requested
Given that Endotrachel Intubation has been taken away from frontline paramedics and only a few selected
personnel have kept this skill could you please provide me under the freedom of information act the
following information; from April 2025 to 24/07/2026:
1) How many Endotracheal Intubation requests have been made by divisional ambulance crews in rural
communities including islands in Scotland;
2) How many Inphase reports of not been able to perform endotracheal intubation due to skill taken away
have been submitted by divisional crews, 3RU and SORT in the whole of Scotland;
3) How many Endotracheal intubation have been carried out by Helimed 5, Helimed 76 and Helimed 2
paramedics working without critical care support (EMRS)
4) What was the Evidence Based gathered for Scotland to justify the decision to take away Endotracheal
Intubation for SORT, Divisional ambulance crews and 3RU and why only helimed 5, Helimed 76 and
Helimed 2 Paramedics have kept this skill.
5) How many cardiac arrest do Helimed 5, Helimed 76 and Helimed 2 attend without critical care support
(EMRS) compare to divisional crews, SORT and 3RU
* For intubation skills if there have been Inphases done by SORT, 3RU and divisional paramedics regarding
not able to intubate due to skill been taken away.
**Location include all of Scotland.- Response
Q1 – Endotracheal Intubation (ETI) requests made by divisional ambulance crews are not recorded within a dedicated reporting field from which this information can be extracted. To identify instances where crews may have requested ETI support would require the review of individual incident records, clinical documentation and operational logs and the application of professional judgement to determine whether a request had been made.
The Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 provides a right of access to recorded information held by a public authority and does not 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.
Q2 – A search of relevant InPhase records identified 29 incidents between 1 April 2025 and 24 July 2026 where concerns relating to Endotracheal Intubation (ETI) were recorded.
The incidents identified reflect concerns or issues recorded by staff and should not be interpreted as evidence that ETI would have been clinically appropriate, available or successful in every case.
Q3 – The Scottish Ambulance Service can identify incidents attended by Helimed 2, Helimed 5 and Helimed 76 where Endotracheal Intubation was undertaken.
However, the Scottish Ambulance Service does not hold recorded information that would enable it to identify, for each incident, whether EMRS critical care support was present or absent.
To provide the information requested would require a manual review of individual incident records and associated documentation to establish the circumstances of each case. The Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 provides a right of access to recorded information held by a public authority and does not 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.
Q4 – Information relevant to this part of your request is already reasonably accessible and is therefore exempt under section 25(1) of FOISA.
The Scottish Ambulance Service has previously published information regarding the evidence base considered in relation to the removal of Endotracheal Intubation as a core paramedic skill: - FOI 26-008 ETI v SGA Research
The Scottish Ambulance Service does not hold recorded information specifically setting out why Helimed 2, Helimed 5 and Helimed 76 were selected to retain ETI capability, beyond the information contained within the published documents and associated governance papers.
Q5 – The Scottish Ambulance Service does not hold recorded information that would allow it to determine, for every cardiac arrest attended by Helimed 2, Helimed 5 or Helimed 76, whether EMRS critical care support was present or absent.
To establish this would require the review of individual incident records and the application of professional judgement. The Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 provides a right of access to recorded information held by a public authority and does not require the creation of new information.
Furthermore, the Scottish Ambulance Service does not hold any records, reports or datasets that would provide, or support the production of, a comparison between cardiac arrests attended by Helimed 2, Helimed 5 and Helimed 76 without EMRS support and those attended by divisional crews, SORT or 3RU resources.
It is for this reason that we have applied section 17(1) of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002, as the information requested is not held.
