In the South East Coast Ambulance Service region, the GMB Union balloted its members for industrial action and met the legal threshold to take action. The first day of industrial action took place on 21 December 2022. The second day is due to take place on Wednesday 11 January 2023 (00:01 to 23:59). We continue to ask for the public’s support ahead of and during the planned day of industrial actio
South East Coast Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust, (SECAmb), would like to thank the public for its continued support in keeping 999 for emergencies only. It would also like to thank all staff and volunteers for their commitment and hard work following a number of weeks of significant pressure and a busy Christmas and New Year Period. Pressure on both the Trust’s 999 and 111 services is expe
Throughout December SECAmb ran its Christmas Stars initiative – where staff and volunteers nominate colleagues to feature as a star each day of Advent. Christmas Stars takes provides colleagues with an opportunity spread a little bit of Christmas cheer and celebrate the little things they do for each other. More than 100 nominations were received, and we were pleased, with the support from loc
South East Coast Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust, (SECAmb), is asking for the public’s support ahead of New Year’s Eve – always a busy time for the ambulance service. SECAmb continues to face pressure across both it’s 999 and 111 services, following the long Christmas bank holiday weekend, and demand is expected to remain high across the New Year period. Last year, the Trust answered close
We continue to face significant pressure on both our 999 and 111 services, as we did prior to yesterday’s industrial action. Although yesterday was a challenging day for the ambulance service, our planning and preparation with NHS partners across Kent, Surrey and Sussex enabled us to ensure that we continued to respond to our most seriously and unwell patients. We would like to extend our particul
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