Air Ambulance Charity Kent Surrey Sussex (KSS) welcomed civic and community leaders from across Kent to its Rochester HQ this week for one of two special events focused on working even more closely together to strengthen community resilience and increase support – helping to save more lives and ensure the best possible patient outcomes.
Mayors, Deputy Mayors, Council Leaders and Business Improvement District Leaders, as well as other local representatives from across Kent met KSS senior leaders and other team members. Together they examined how collaborative action can improve emergency preparedness within their communities, as well as help ensure KSS can continue to deliver its vital service across the region through increasing awareness and support.
Attendees gained a unique insight into the frontline operation of KSS, the only air ambulance serving Kent, Surrey and Sussex, and met doctors and paramedics and during their visit to the charity’s base at Rochester Airport.
(Civic and Community Leaders from across Kent with Team KSS members at the charity’s Rochester Airport HQ)
Discussions centred on practical opportunities for collaboration, and included CPR and defibrillator training, as well as the chance to meet a former KSS patient, alongside the charity’s Patient and Family Aftercare Service team members.
Leaders also heard how they can make a tangible lifesaving difference in their communities every day by choosing KSS as their Charity of the Year partner. Choosing to support KSS in this way helps fund lifesaving missions, while engaging staff and communities through meaningful fundraising, as well as enhancing local safety with CPR and defibrillator training.
In 2024/25*, KSS responded to over 3,100 incidents, an average of nine every day at a cost of around £57k each day. As an independent charity, every lifesaving mission KSS makes is almost entirely funded through the kindness and generosity of supporters within its communities – raising the vital funds needed to keep flying and saving lives.
David Welch, KSS Chief Executive, said: “We’re proud to be working ever more closely alongside civic, community and business leaders from within our communities in our shared commitment to saving lives and ensuring best possible patient outcomes. Together we can strengthen local resilience by helping communities be more prepared for a medical emergency, so that everyone can play their part in giving patients the best chance of survival ahead of the arrival of the emergency services and KSS. Through increased awareness and support, community leaders can also help raise the vital funds we need to be here 24/7 for the most suddenly critically injured and unwell people – ready to respond when every second counts.”
David added: “Working so closely together in this way is crucial if we are to achieve our vision of an end to preventable loss of life from medical emergency. We know we can’t achieve this alone. That’s why this week’s events mark an important step towards building a better future, while helping to increase awareness and support – keeping us flying and saving lives.”
For more information on collaboration opportunities or to support the lifesaving work of KSS, visit www.aakss.org.uk.
*Air Ambulance Charity Kent Surrey Sussex Trustees’ Annual Report and Financial Statements 2024/25