FOI 26-338 GoodSAM Services
Freedom of Information Request
- Reference
- FOI 26-338 GoodSAM Services
- Request Date
- 07 Aug 2026
- Response Date
- 25 Aug 2026
- Information Requested
I would like to know whether the service uses the GoodSAM app for “lay public” response to cardiac/respiratory arrests.
If the service does use GoodSAM, please provide details of the call codings alerted via the system and any radius for alerts. Please also provide any restrictions on grade/organisation of registered responders being alerted. Please provide the amount of alerst sent in the past year from 27/07/2026 and how many GoodSam times attedned?
Where any exist, please provide the relevant policies regarding SAS use of the GoodSAM system.- Response
Does the Scottish Ambulance Service use the GoodSAM app for “lay public” response to cardiac/respiratory arrests?
Yes
If the service does use GoodSAM, please provide details of the call codings alerted via the system and any radius for alerts.
The Scottish Ambulance Service uses GoodSAM to alert nearby registered responders to suspected cardiac arrest related incidents within a radius of approximately 500 metres of the incident location.
The Scottish Ambulance Service holds information regarding the specific call coding criteria used for activation of GoodSAM alerts. However, this information is exempt from disclosure under sections 33(1)(b) (Commercial Interests and the Economy) and 39(1) (Health, Safety and the Environment) of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002.
Disclosure of detailed dispatch coding information would be likely to prejudice the commercial interests of the supplier of the dispatch system and could also have implications for operational and public safety. The Scottish Information Commissioner has previously upheld the application of these exemptions in relation to MPDS dispatch coding information.
Please also provide any restrictions on grade/organisation of registered responders being alerted.
GoodSAM alerts are issued to individuals who are registered and approved within the GoodSAM responder scheme. Responders must meet the eligibility and registration requirements applicable to the scheme before they can receive alerts.
Please provide the amount of alerts sent in the past year and how many GoodSAM responders attended.
For the period 27 July 2025 to 27 July 2026:
Number of GoodSAM alerts issued: 16,584
Number of incidents where a GoodSAM responder confirmed they were on scene: 2,377
Where any exist, please provide the relevant policies regarding SAS use of the GoodSAM system.
A copy of the Scottish Ambulance Service GoodSAM Standard Operating Procedure is enclosed with this response.
The Scottish Ambulance Service has redacted screenshots contained within the attached Standard Operating Procedure under sections 39(1) (Health, Safety and the Environment) and 33(1)(b) (Commercial Interests and the Economy) of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002.
The screenshots contain operational information relating to the management and administration of the GoodSAM alerting platform, including details of system functionality, user interfaces and administrative processes. Disclosure of this information could create risks to the safe and effective operation of the system and would be likely to prejudice substantially the commercial interests of the system provider.
Both exemptions are subject to the public interest test. While there is a public interest in transparency regarding the Service's use of GoodSAM, we consider this is outweighed by the public interest in protecting operational systems used in the delivery of emergency care and avoiding disclosure of information that could compromise the security, integrity or effective operation of those systems.
The names of staff below Executive level have been redacted under section 38(1)(b) of FOISA as the information constitutes personal data. Disclosure would contravene the data protection principles set out in UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018
- Response Documents
