South East Coast Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust, (SECAmb), is asking the public to use its services wisely across what is expected to be a busy four-day Easter Bank Holiday weekend. People are urged make use of alternative to calling 999 if they are not facing an emergency including seeking help and advice from NHS 111 online by visiting 111.nhs.uk or by calling 111. SECAmb is asking for p
South East Coast Ambulance Service’s (SECAmb) Hazardous Area Response Team, (HART), paramedics will benefit from a new confined-space training facility recently installed at their base in Ashford, Kent. The specialist container, previously used by and donated by West Sussex Fire and Rescue Service, has been repurposed to cater for the training requirements of SECAmb’s HART. HART is made up of team
We understand industrial action planned by a number of the Trust’s unions has been paused after national talks between the government and unions resulted in a new pay offer. The offer will now be voted on by staff in the coming weeks during which time strike action will be paused. SECAmb welcomes the development and hopes the pay dispute can be resolved as soon as possible. We would like to thank
A Reigate man has leant his voice to calls for everyone to learn CPR (cardio-pulmonary resuscitation) after being reunited with some of the ambulance team who help save his life. Michael Woolley, 80, suffered a cardiac arrest at his home on the afternoon of 14 December last year. His wife, Lynn, who joined him when he visited Banstead Make Ready Centre recently, immediately began CPR, called 999 a
South East Coast Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust, (SECAmb), is celebrating a decade of running the NHS 111 service across much of its region. The Trust, which now runs the service across Kent, Medway and Sussex, handled its first 111 call 10 years ago as part of a soft launch of the service in the region. The NHS 111 service took over from NHS Direct, a nationally-run service that began in
With more than three-quarters of all resuscitations attempts by South East Coast Ambulance Service (SECAmb) crews taking place in the home, this February Heart Month, people are being asked if they would be willing and able to perform CPR on a loved one. The revealing statistic comes from a new report on out-of-hospital cardiac arrests (OHCA) published by SECAmb. The report, covering April 2021 to
A prolific persistent caller who made more than 7,000 calls to Sussex Police and SECAmb from September 2020 and was continually abusive to emergency service contact officers has been sentenced to 39-months in prison. Roger Jackson, 77, from Horsham, pleaded guilty at a hearing at Lewes Crown Court on Friday, January 27. As part of the sentence Jackson will also have a Criminal Behaviour Order (CBO
A new multi-purpose ambulance centre is expected to become operational this summer. The South East Coast Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust, (SECAmb) centre, in Bredgar Road, Gillingham, will consist of a Make Ready Centre, Emergency Operations Centre, (EOC), and NHS 111 contact centre. It will be the first ambulance centre in the country to bring all three functions together under one roof. T
In the South East Coast Ambulance Service region, the GMB Union balloted its members for industrial action last year and met the legal threshold to take action. Other unions in our region are currently re-balloting their members. To date, two days of industrial action have taken place, on 21 December 2022 and on 11 January 2023. The GMB Union recently announced four further days of industrial acti
South East Coast Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust, (SECAmb), is encouraging its staff and volunteers to spend time thinking and talking about their mental health ahead of Time to Talk Day this week (Thursday 2 February). Throughout February, the Trust will also be raising mental health awareness among staff and volunteers with a campaign – Your Mind Matters. The campaign will focus on the im