Air Ambulance Charity Kent Surrey Sussex (KSS)

On 19th March 2024 Banstead Rotarians heard about the work of the Sir Ambulance Charity in Surrey, Sussex and Kent from volunteer, Beryl Smith. In the following summary Beryl highlights the vital role of the charity.

"Every day around 5,000 emergency calls are made to the South East coast ambulance control centre. The vast majority of these emergencies can be handled perfectly competently by the SECAmb ambulance crews. But 8 or 9 times in 24 hours a life-threatening emergency will arise which needs intervention beyond the current skills required of NHS paramedics.

From our base in  Redhill our qualified emergency helicopter pilots transport the critical care team of doctor and paramedic, along with state of the art equipment, to the scene of the emergency, bringing advanced care directly to the patient. 

It is this early intervention by the Air Ambulance team which gives the patient the best possible chance of survival and a successful recovery.

KSS is not part of the NHS, and our dedicated team of volunteers work hard to help raise donations from the public to provide the £18.8 million to keep our helicopters flying, so that we can be there whenever and wherever we’re needed."