Freedom of Information – “Find an independent healthcare provider or service” search usage (last 5 years): September 2026
Request details
Request
Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002
In your email of 20 August 2026, you asked:
Under the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002, please provide the following information for the “Find an independent healthcare provider or service” search tool on this page: https://www.healthcareimprovementscotland.scot/inspections-reviews-and-regulation/regulation-of-independent-healthcare/find-an-independent-healthcare-provider-or-service/
For each of the most recent five years for which records are held, please provide:
1. Total number of searches (annual total).
2. Number of searches where the user selected the “Clinic” option from the drop-down category (annual total).
Please state the date range covered by your response and provide the data in CSV or Excel format if possible.
If you consider any part of this request unclear or potentially costly, please contact me to discuss a narrower scope.
Please confirm receipt of this request and the date by which I can expect a response.
Response
Our current corporate website was launched in January 2024, and we have provided you with activity data from 2024 to the current date, these are:
- How many users viewed the page
- How long they stayed on the page on average.
- Event count: User engagement
The search functionality on the page of interest was only introduced in May 2025, and our analytics do not track the number of searches conducted or the options selected in the search. Prior to this date, the page provided a single table containing all the information.
User engagement is defined as when a user spends a minimum of 10 seconds on a page, performs multiple page views, or interacts with the site in a meaningful way. We have shared this as it may indicate someone using the search functionality.
Please note that this data includes our internal staff looking at the page, as well as members of the public. The data we have gathered does not include users on our website who declined cookies. The data from 2026 is from 1 January to 20 August 2026.
We have also provided data relating to our previous website, an archive of which you can view via the National Records of Scotland. We hold activity data from August 2022 until February 2024 for the archived site. The data for 2024 is a combination of data from both sites.
The analytics on the archive site were configured differently to our current approach. Prior to 2024 we were able to track how many searches took place, but not which options users selected.
All data is presented in the accompanying appendix by year.
Review and Appeals
For more information on our reviews and appeals, please visit: Freedom of information reviews and appeals – Healthcare Improvement Scotland