Emergency (A&E) ambulances

Frontline emergency ambulances with a crew of two who respond to the majority of 999 emergencies and GP urgent calls. The service operates about 300 front-line ambulances and is constantly up-grading the fleet, including the latest vehicles equipped with tail-lifts. 

Single Response Vehicles (SRV)

SRVs are usually single-manned by a Paramedic. They are used for making initial assessments of patients and situations and where extra help is needed quickly. They are a flexible resource and in other trusts motorbikes are sometimes used for this role.

Paramedic Practitoners

Paramedic Practitioners are paramedics who have undertaken extra training. They are able to thoroughly investigate a patient's condition, social situation, etc and then make an informed decision about the correct way to progress their treatment. Click here to find out more about how Paramedic Practitioner can treat patients

Helicopter Air Support

We have air support from a number of helicopters. They can be asked to assist at any incident where they might be needed such as inaccessible terrain or where a very fast evacuation to hospital is preferable to an ambulance journey by road. One helicopter, H900, is operated jointly with the police and the others are provided by Kent Surrey Sussex Air Ambulance Trust. 

Emergency Medical Support

We enjoy support in this area from two voluntary organisations - SIMCAS and BASICS. Both utilise doctors who have completed specialist training to enable them to help patients in the pre-hospital situation. They are mostly GPs with a special interest in this subject. Although they are only used occasionally, they are invaluable when a doctor's skills are needed.

Community Responder Schemes

These are mainly members of the public who have been trained by the service to "hold the fort" until the ambulance arrives but may also be off-duty members of staff or colleagues from another emergency service. They are able to deliver treatments that are time-critical (where seconds count) such as defibriallation. There are several schemes accross our area and they have been an enormous success with many lives saved to their credit.