What began as what felt like mild chest pain quickly turned into a race against time for one Maidstone man who has since been reunited with the emergency team who helped treat him following a heart attack. Brian Gard aged 76 was at home with his wife, Heather, on 10 January 2026 when he began experiencing chest pain he initially thought was angina which is a condition caused by reduced blood flow
When Ellie King’s heart stopped, quick CPR from her husband and rapid response from South East Coast Ambulance Service (SECAmb) clinicians gave her a second chance at life. On 12 June 2025, Ellie and her husband, Paul, were at home watching television when Ellie’s breathing suddenly became irregular. Paul called 999 for help immediately. Resource Dispatcher, Elle Playfair, who was a call taker at
Today is World Health Day, which this year is campaigning for science-led solutions for a healthier future. With today’s research paving the way for the scientific treatments of tomorrow, SECAmb has been developing its own research capacity. The Research and Development Department held open applications across the Trust, before awarding £3,000 grants to three teams of colleagues with research prop
South East Coast Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust (SECAmb) is marking a strong improvement in Category 2 (C2) ambulance response times for 2025/26, achieved despite a significant increase in demand for emergency care. NHS England asked the Trust to deliver an average Category 2 response time of 28 minutes and 19 seconds. Through the sustained effort across the Trust and with support from par
With His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales and Her Royal Highness The Princess of Wales, the Prime Minister, Keir Starmer and approximately 2,000 guests in attendance, our teams were on hand to ensure the historic enthronement of Dame Sarah Mullally, the first female Archbishop of Canterbury, ran safely. As part of the operation, our teams were situated at Canterbury Cathedral within the command
South Central Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust (SCAS) and South East Coast Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust (SECAmb) are pleased to announce the appointment of Colin Dennis as the first Group Chair, providing unified non-executive leadership across both organisations. Colin’s appointment was made by both Councils of Governors on 27 March 2026, following recommendation from the joint ap
This weekend sees Easter celebrations. Considered the cornerstone of the Christian faith, the festival celebrates Jesus rising from the dead, three days after he was executed on the cross. SECAmb chaplain Peter Hills and Sadie Ghinn-Morris, co-Chair of the enABLE Staff Network, talk about what the religious celebration means to them. Methodist minister Peter, currently covering stations in the G
Trigger warning: This article contains references to traumatic events, including the death of a member of the SECAmb team. The parents of Alice Clark, who died in January 2022 while on duty as a newly qualified paramedic, have shared their powerful story and campaign for change to protect colleagues and patients in a special podcast. In a conversation with Simon Weldon, SECAmb’s Chief Execu
With more than a thousand urgent calls to our 111 service over the Easter Holidays made for repeat prescriptions, South East Coast Ambulance Service (SECAmb) is urging the public to plan ahead. Over the four-day weekend from 3 to 6 April, SECAmb can expect to handle more than 13,000 calls to its 999 service and 18,000 calls to NHS 111 – a service it provides across Sussex, Kent and Medway. Last ye
Next week will see celebrations to mark the start of Passover, or Pesach, a major event in the Jewish calendar. A spring festival lasting seven or eight days, it features a ceremonial meal called a Seder, where the biblical story of the Israelites’ liberation from slavery in Egypt is retold. Paramedic Amba Cooper, who has worked in SECAmb for 11 years having started as an ECSW, shares the ce