Today we’re marking 35 years since our charity was launched on 6 November 1989. Since then we have made over 46,000 missions, saving thousands of lives and providing the best possible outcome for patients, keeping more families and loved ones together.
We currently respond to around nine life or death calls every day across the South East when every second counts for survival.
The anniversary coincides with the start of the our Christmas Appeal, `Ready to Save Lives’ which is helping ensure that our specialist doctors and paramedics will be there for people across Kent Surrey and Sussex in their most urgent hour of need.
People like Sam Jenner, who is the focus of our `Ready to Save Lives’ appeal alongside David Wright, the paramedic who saved her life. Sam was six months pregnant when she collapsed with a cardiac arrest as she was getting ready for work.
Sam said: “Without KSS, lots of families like mine would face very different futures. Please donate to help KSS be ready to save more lives.”
KSS started as the South East Thames Air Ambulance, under the control of the regional health authority. We owe a huge debt to our founder, the remarkable Kate Chivers, who established us as an independent charity when an initial three months of funding came to an end and we faced an uncertain future.
Over the last 35 years we have grown to become one of the largest air ambulance services in the UK, serving a resident population of around 5M and millions more transiting through our region every year. It covers much of the South East of England – 3,500 square miles across Kent, Surrey and Sussex.
Kate Chivers said: “Who would have thought our fledging would become such a beautiful eagle? Anyone who was there at the beginning would be astonished and delighted at what has been achieved, which exceeds all expectations and hopes, a remarkable level of excellence that is exceptional.
“What is most remarkable, is that this has been made possible through the outstanding support this charitable service has received from its donors and volunteers. “
We’ve become a world-leading Helicopter Emergency Medical Service (HEMS) with globally- renowned Pre-hospital Emergency Medicine clinicians as part of our remarkable crew.
David Welch, our Chief Executive, said: ““We’ve been on an incredible journey during the past 35 years, thanks to the amazing support and dedication from our founder, Kate Chivers, our staff, volunteers, supporters and Trustees.
“We continuously strive to collaborate and innovate to improve the care we can deliver to our patients and communities so we can save even more lives and ensure the best possible patient outcomes.”
Throughout our history KSS has innovated to meet the changing needs of the communities we serve. The doctors and paramedics of KSS are able to deliver medical interventions and procedures at a level that was once only available in hospitals.
In 2006 we began carrying doctors as well as paramedics on our helicopters and established a dedicated dispatch desk at the ambulance control centre. In 2015 we introduced our Dispatch Team – the first time KSS had a team of dedicated dispatchers, well versed in the working environment, technology and 999 call process, whose sole responsibility was to identify serious trauma incidents and dispatch our crew to scene.
Advances in care, such as pre-hospital blood transfusions which we have been able to do since 2013, have revolutionised what can be done for air ambulance patients. Also in 2013 we became the first air ambulance in the country to fly 24/7 all year round, allowing us to care for even more patients.
In 2017 we began using the state-of-the-art AW169 helicopter – providing greater speed, range, and all-weather capabilities, as well as a large cabin space to provide more in-flight care. In 2022 we moved to a same type fleet of three AW169 helicopters and also in the year were able to buy one of these amazing helicopters. In 2024, thanks to the generosity of our supporters, we purchased our second AW169 with our biggest ever fundraising appeal to raise the extra £1M needed in just six-weeks.
We’ve made incredible progress over the last 35 years but we want to do more, to reach more patients, improve outcomes and save more lives.
By using sophisticated on-scene blood pressure monitoring and exploring the potential of using Extra-Corporeal Membrane Oxygenation (ECMO – a heart-lung pump) we are pushing the boundaries of what can be achieved for cardiac arrest patients.
We continue to respond to the changing needs of our communities, attending more medical emergencies such as cardiac arrest, developing community-based prevention, education and training initiatives and increasing the impact of our Patient and Family Aftercare Service across the communities we serve. More than 80,000 people took part in our recent Restart a Heart campaign which delivered CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation) training sessions, helping to create an army of lifesavers across the South East.
It’s thanks to our supporters that we have been ready to respond to more than 46,000 thousand incidents in our history. In 2023 our communities needed our lifesaving service more than ever before with record levels of demand during which we responded to over 3,300 incidents.
Please help us be ready to save lives for the next 35 years and beyond by supporting our Christmas appeal, `Ready to Save Lives’ .
