SECAmb took a decision yesterday evening, (Monday 19 December), to declare a Critical Incident. This decision was taken following a period of more than a week of sustained pressure across both our 999 and 111 services which has significantly impacted on our ability to respond to patients. We would like to thank all our staff and volunteers for their hard work and commitment in recent days in what
With just one final weekend before Christmas, South East Coast Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust, (SECAmb), is urging people to plan ahead and follow some simple advice to keep themselves and others safe. SECAmb is facing currently facing significant pressure on both its 999 and 111 services and in the two-week period last year, (20 December 2021 – 2 January 2022), answered close to 35,000 99
In the South East Coast Ambulance Service region, the GMB Union balloted members for industrial action and met the legal threshold to take action. GMB issued a formal notice for strike action for 21 December (06:00 to 23:59) & 28 December (00:01 to 23:59) 2022. Following the announcement of industrial action, we have worked closely with our unions and all staff to ensure that the impact of any
A man who made thousands of hoax calls to the police and ambulance service in Sussex has been jailed. Paul Hennessy made almost 2,000 calls to the SECAmb between January 1, 2021 and June 6, 2022. Some of the calls were made to 999 call handlers, where he made threats to attack ambulance staff at a Make Ready Centre in Hastings with a machete. He made a threat to kill a crew if they were sent to h
South East Coast Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust, (SECAmb), is rolling out a new clinical pathway aimed at reducing the length of time someone who has fallen waits for a response. Falls make up a significant number of 999 calls and many do not initially result in significant injury to patients. However, delays to such calls, as ambulance crews are sent to higher priority incidents, can lead
Following recent elections, we’d like to welcome five new governors onto our Council of Governors. Congratulations to the following new Public Governors – Amanda Cool, Colin Hall and Barbara Wallis elected in the Upper East ((Medway/ Kent/ East London) constituency and Peter Shore elected in the Upper West (Surrey/Hants/West London) constituency – and to Sam Bowden, elected as a new Operatio
Updated statement – Friday 18 November – 5pm SECAmb Strategic Commander, Nick Keech: “We are pleased that, following the IT issues experienced by the Trust last week, and a period of operating our Computer Aided Dispatch, (CAD), from our East Emergency Operations Centre in Coxheath, Kent, all of our systems are now functioning fully. This follows an extensive testing period to ensure all our syste
South East Coast Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust (SECAmb) is asking the public for its support ahead of the World Cup beginning this week. England and Wales kick off their campaigns on Monday, (21 November), and later face each other in the group stage on the evening of Tuesday 29 November. In previous football tournaments, SECAmb has typically seen an increase in demand after the final whi
This year’s Remembrance Sunday saw us provide 86 SECAmb wreaths to be laid at services across our region – the highest number ever. Members of staff and volunteers, including operational and Emergency Operation Centre colleagues and many Community First Responder teams, took part in services in local towns and villages to mark Remembrance Sunday and to remember the service and sacrific
South East Coast Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust (SECAmb) is pleased to have welcomed its latest team of international colleagues. Yesterday, (8 November), 18 paramedic colleagues joined us from South Africa, Australia, Nigeria, India and Ireland. The recruits are now undertaking their transition to UK practice course for the next few weeks before joining their new operating units early in