We’re celebrating Trustees’ Week (Monday 6 to Friday 10 November) by shining a light on our governance excellence and announcing our Chair has been shortlisted for a national Air Ambulances UK award later this month.
We continually aspire for excellence in all aspects of our work, and governance sits at the very heart of this aspiration. Our Chair of the Board of Trustees, Barney Burgess, is at the helm, supported by a diverse board of 10 other dedicated and multi-skilled Trustees.
The leadership and expertise of our Trustees, together with their supportive approach and strategic oversight, enables us to consistently deliver our world-leading service 24/7, 365 days a year, within our communities across Kent, Surrey and Sussex.
Together our Trustees are responsible for the overall governance of KSS, including always ensuring that we all act in the charity’s best interest and that our much-valued funds are spent in a manner which achieves maximum public benefit. They are the highest advocates of the Charity Governance Code to ensure that we operate as a highly ethical and trusted charity.
As well as excelling in leadership and expertise, being an effective Trustee also requires an enormous amount of commitment, dedication and passion, and our Chair Barney embodies each one of these qualities in abundance.
Barney’s unique and personal connection to the charity sets him apart. Having once been a patient whose life was saved by KSS, Barney was inspired and felt compelled to play an active role in supporting us to ensure many more lives can be saved in the future.
Since becoming Chair 2021, Barney has been pivotal in helping to drive us forward: being at the centre of creating our new five-year strategy; further strengthening our governance; championing our research and innovation; encouraging collaboration with partners at every opportunity; and supporting our work on education and prevention.
His outstanding achievements have led to him being shortlisted in the Trustee of the Year category of the highly coveted national Air Ambulances UK Awards of Excellence which take place at the end of November.
Barney said: “I’m so proud to lead such an incredible organisation which continually strives for excellence to ensure we can be there for our communities when they need us the most. I’m excited about the future of continuing to lead KSS so that we can reach even more patients and save even more lives.”
David Welch, our Chief Executive said, ”Barney has been a huge inspiration and support to me and countless other members of Team KSS. His powerful empathy as a former patient has enabled us to continually improve and evolve to meet the needs of our patients and communities. His passion and commitment to research and innovation have firmly established our world-leading reputation, all contributing to our purpose of saving lives and ensuring the best possible patient outcomes.”
For more information about our Trustees and our lifesaving work, visit aakss.org.uk/trustees
