Air Ambulance Charity Kent Surrey Sussex (KSS) has been honoured to welcome the High Sheriffs of Kent, Surrey, East Sussex and West Sussex to its Redhill airbase to find out more about the charity’s vital work this week.

The very special gathering of all four High Sheriffs provided a unique opportunity to showcase the worldleading pre-hospital emergency treatment and care that KSS provides to the most suddenly seriously injured and ill people 24/7, 365, in communities across Kent, Surrey and Sussex, and discuss its impact across all four counties.

The High Sheriffs heard how, every day, the charity responds to around nine emergency calls for its urgent lifesaving care, with each of these missions almost entirely funded by public support. It costs £56K a day to run the lifesaving service and it only thanks to the generosity of the people in the communities it serves that KSS can keep flying and saving lives.

The High Sheriffs also heard about KSS’s world-leading research and innovation which continually pushes the boundaries of what is possible in pre-hospital emergency care, helping to continually improve patient outcomes across Kent, Surrey and Sussex, around the UK and across the globe, both now into the future.

KSS responds to aroung nine emergency calls every day and uses helicopters and land vehicles to attend.

placeholder image — KSS responds to aroung nine emergency calls every day and uses helicopters and land vehicles to attend.

After a tour of the base and a close-up look at one of the charity’s air ambulance helicopters, the High Sheriff of West Sussex, Dr Fooks, remarked,

"From this visit it is clear that the staff, their training and the equipment available to KSS is of the highest calibre - arguably the best in the world. The ability to rapidly attend a sick or injured person by road or air dramatically improves the opportunity of this charity to save lives. But it is so important to remember that, although this service coordinates all it does with other emergency services, it is not part of the NHS and has to fund 90% of its costs through donations. This then is an exceptional organisation, totally focussed on saving lives, and deserves to be generously supported by West Sussex redients."

The High Sheriffs met with KSS Chief Executive David Welch, Executive Director of Fundraising and Philanthropy Kelly Heaton-Ralph, Executive Director of Service Delivery Leigh Curtis and Head of Major Gifts, Paul Sandford.

Kelly Heaton-Ralph said: “It was an honour to welcome the High Sheriffs for Kent, Surrey, East and West Sussex to our Redhill base. We're grateful for their ongoing and future dedication towards our charity and in generating and inspiring support from the communities that we collectively serve. This support enables

The High Sheriffs of West Sussex, East Sussex, Surrey and Kent visit KSS Air Ambulance

us to continue saving lives and ensuring the best possible outcomes for patients across Kent, Surrey and Sussex.

“Their visit was also a chance to highlight the importance of fundraising and the many ways people in our communities contribute to keeping us flying and saving lives.”

The visiting High Sheriffs were: Dr Tim Fooks, High Sheriff of West Sussex, Annie Brown, High Sheriff of East Sussex, Jonathan Neame, High Sheriff of Kent accompanied by his wife Lucie and Peter Cluff, High Sheriff of Surrey accompanied by his wife Suzanne.

For more information about the lifesaving work of KSS and how you can support the charity visit aakss.org.uk