Dear Welsh Ambulance Services NHS Trust,

Under the Freedom of Information Act I would like to request the following information:

How many ambulances dispatched following 999 calls were operated by private ambulance firms in 2020?

How much did Welsh Ambulance Services NHS Trust spend on private ambulance services in 2020? If possible please provide the cost of emergency responce services and patient transport services separately.

Which, if any, private ambulance firms received money for operation of services on behalf of Welsh Ambulance Services NHS Trust in 2020?

Please note that East of England Ambulance Service NHS Trust was able to provide this information in 2019: https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/p...

I'm happy to note that due to to the pandemic you may be limited on time and resources, and therefore am perfectly fine if the provision of this information does not come within the timeframe set by the ICO, however would also note that during the pandemic, public scrutiny over private interests within the NHS is more important than ever.

Thanks your help.

Yours faithfully,
Finlay Cox

Dear Jeff Prescott (Welsh Ambulance Service NHS Trust - 020),

Thank you for your quick response. Initially I neglected to consider the disparity between the number of ambulances dispatched and the number attending patients.

If possible could I rephrase question 1 to 'How many ambulances dispatched following 999 calls were operated by private ambulance firms in 2020, and of these, how many attended patients?'

Thanks so much for your help.

Yours sincerely,

Finlay Cox