Dear Scottish Ambulance Service,

re: Tracking of Third Party Responders on Computer Assisted Dispatch Systems

Please could you provide me with the following information with respect to West Ambulance Control Centre (ACC):

1. Do third party responders GPS locations (or the locations of fixed third party resources) show up on West ACC's Computer Assisted Dispatch (CAD) in the same manner that SAS resources appear on the system? That is to say, can West ACC dispatchers see third party responders on their CAD screens in the same way they can see SAS resources?

2. Has there been a change to how third party responders show on CAD in the last 2 years? Specifically, have third party responders been removed from the list of nearby ambulance resources that West ACC dispatchers see when a 999 call location comes in?

3. What is the 'alternative providers desk' (which may now go by a different name, but which will be referred to in this request as the APD) that was created to track third party responders and why was it set up?

4. When was the APD set up?

5. How does the APD function?

6. Have concerns been raised that the APD is failing to task third party responders to calls resulting in delays in patients receiving prompt emergency medical care? If so, what were those concerns and how were they handled?

Yours faithfully,

Dr Robert S. Coull