Air Ambulance Kent Surrey Sussex

Air Ambulance Kent Surrey Sussex
Founded 1989 (1989)
Founder Kate Chivers
Type Charitable organisation
Location
Key people
 Adrian Bell, CEO
Website https://www.aakss.org.uk

The Kent, Surrey and Sussex Air Ambulance is an organisation providing emergency medical services through the provision of a helicopter air ambulance covering the three counties of Kent, Surrey and Sussex in the South East of England, United Kingdom. The helicopters are funded by the Kent Air Ambulance Trust which is a registered charity, raising money from public and private donations in excess of £3.4m every year between Kent, Sussex and Surrey.[1]

Formation and history

G-KSST AW169 at its base in Redhill

The service, an expansion of the existing Kent Air Ambulance service, went into operation in 2007,[2] covering the two counties of Sussex and Surrey.[3]

The trust currently operates two helicopters, both AgustaWestland AW169 G-KSST since 2017 and G-KSSC since 2018. Three previous MD 902 Explorers (G-KAAT, G-KSSH and G-KSSH) served the trust throughout the 2000s also, but now appear to have either been retired or placed into reserve. The helicopters can fly at nearly 150 miles per hour,[4] making all areas of the three counties accessible within a 20-minute flight.[2]

On 30 October 2015 it was announced that the trust would invest £10m in relocating its flying base near Paddock Wood.[5]

The service supplements the existing air ambulance service provided Sussex Police Air Operations Unit, the helicopter run jointly by Sussex Police and South East Coast Ambulance Service.

The operation also has a rapid response car for the crew to use in the event that the helicopter is grounded for any reason. This vehicle was donated in May 2009 by Sussex Police, having formerly been one of their traffic patrol vehicles.[6]

In 2017 one of the trusts two MD Explorer helicopters (G-KAAT) was retired after over 17 years of service for the trust and replaced by a new AgustaWestland 169 helicopter capable of night time flights, giving the trust a 24-hour capability.

In 2018, a second AW169 (G-KSSC) entered service, replacing the ageing MD902. This caused the service to move one of its bases to Rochester Airport, to accommodate the larger helicopter, alongside the existing base at Redhill Aerodrome. The arrival of the new AW169 promoted the rebranding and name change of the charity.

Kent Air Ambulance Trust (Kent Air Ambulance)

Previously, the Kent Air Ambulance operated on a stand-alone basis, providing a service to only Kent.

G-KSSA and G-KSST

The Kent Air Ambulance Trust became a registered charity established in 1989. The trust was founded by Kate Chivers[7] and was originally called the South East Thames Air Ambulance.[8] Initially operated on a part-time basis, but became a seven-day service in January 2000 and shortly afterwards moved from its original Rochester Airport base to its current base at Marden near Maidstone.[9]

It operated one McDonnell-Douglas MD-902 Explorer[10] helicopter (registration G-KAAT) from its headquarters in Marden. This location, combined with a its high cruise speed, quoted by Macdonnell Douglas as in excess of 150 mph,[11][7][12][13] enables the crew to reach almost all of the county within 15 minutes of takeoff (the exception being the farther reaches of Thanet which may take up to 20 minutes to reach).[14]

Sussex Join Police Air Operations Unit & Air Ambulance (Sussex Air Ambulance)

The Sussex Air Ambulance was unique, in its time, for it being only one of two air ambulances in the UK to operate in partnership with a police force (the other being Wiltshire Air Ambulance, which has also gone on to operate its own helicopter).

The MD 902, G-SUSX, was crewed by a pilot, a Sussex Police air observer, who was a fully sworn constable (or sergeant) and a paramedic seconded from South East Coast Ambulance Service, who was also trained as an air observer.

Under the now KSSAAC, the Sussex-based helicopter also served Surrey – creating Kent, Surrey and Sussex Air Ambulance.

Role

The Trust's mission statement is: "relieve sick and injured people in south east England and surrounding areas by providing a Helicopter Emergency Medical Service (HEMS) and Air Ambulance Service for the benefit of the community".[15] The trust provides air ambulance cover for the entire county, in association with the South East Coast Ambulance Service, who provide the paramedics that fly with the trust on secondment.[16]

The trust receives no funding from any government body, instead relying on voluntary donations to meet its running costs.[17]

According to the charity's official website, they have attended over 25,000 incidents since their inception in 1989.

See also

References

  1. ↑ Charity Commission. Kent Air Ambulance Trust, registered charity no. 1021367.
  2. 1 2 "Who we are". Sussex Air Ambulance Fund.
  3. ↑ "Air Ambulance Coverage Map". Air Ambulance Association UK.
  4. ↑ Triggle, Nick (7 October 2008). "We take A&E to the patient". BBC News.
  5. ↑ "Kent, Surrey and Sussex air ambulances to fly from new base". bbc.co.uk. 2015-10-30.
  6. ↑ "Police gift is boost for rapid response". Mid Sussex Citizen. 6 May 2009. p. 1.
  7. 1 2 Sturgess, Trevor (25 September 2007). "Naming of air ambulance a tribute to Kate". Kent Messenger.
  8. ↑ "Air ambulance founder in honoured". BBC News. 24 September 2007. Retrieved 5 January 2010.
  9. ↑ Horn, Jenni (17 July 2008). "Building towards a bright future". Kent Messenger.
  10. ↑ "G-KAAT Information". Airliners.net.
  11. ↑ "Who we are". Kent Air Ambulance Trust. Archived from the original on 31 July 2009.
  12. ↑ "MD Explorer Performance Specifications" (PDF). MD Helicopters. Archived from the original (PDF) on 16 July 2011. Retrieved 13 June 2009.
  13. ↑ "Helicopter named after air ambulance trust founder". Kent News. 29 July 2009.
  14. ↑ "Kent Air Ambulance Flying Time Map". Kent Air Ambulance Trust. Archived from the original on 24 January 2009.
  15. ↑ "Mission Statement". Sussex Air Ambulance.
  16. ↑ "Meet the crew". Sussex Air Ambulance.
  17. ↑ "Air ambulance seeks patients' aid". BBC News. 14 January 2008.
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