In 2015 we purchased two rapid response vehicles for Air Ambulance Kent Surrey Sussex (KSS). Together they have covered more than 100,000 miles, providing specialist life-saving care by road.

Thanks to your support we’ve been able to fund a new vehicle for KSS, used when circumstances prevent them for taking flight.

Lynne Harris, KSS’s Executive Director of Income Generation, Marketing and Communications said: “We are hugely grateful to all fundraisers at the Lions District 105SE for their significant contribution to our service. Thanks to their variety of fundraising initiatives across the region, we now have a new, reliable rapid response vehicle which is invaluable in helping us to deliver our service across the regions which we serve.”

Our next fundraising goal is to help KSS buy two monitor/defibrillator machines for its helicopters. The Tempus ALS system consists of the Tempus Pro Monitor paired with the Tempus LS Defibrillator. KSS’ current units have been in use since 2017 and are due for replacement.

Dr Duncan Bootland, Medical Director at KSS said: “The Tempus Pro monitors are carried to every single one of our patients. In addition to monitoring the patient’s vital signs, the Tempus Pro Monitor allows us to transmit live patient data, video, and audio from the scene to our remote on call consultant. As a result, accurate information of patient injuries, vital signs and administered drugs and their effect can be analysed remotely enabling remote advice to be given by a senior doctor.

Part of the ‘fine-tuning’ of patient care described above is based on understanding second-by-second what the patient’s physiology is doing. The Tempus system allows us to do this. We can see their blood pressure, oxygen and carbon dioxide levels, temperature and more, changing over time which gives critical clues about what is happening to the patient. The fact that this information can be seen by our on-call consultant means that an extra pair of eyes can be screening this ‘data stream’ looking for changes and trends. On several occasions, our consultants have spotted a problem developing whilst watching remotely from home, and have called the crew to warn them, leading to significant intervention to help the patient. No other monitor in our experience can provide this level of functionality. Importantly, no other has proved as robust either, bearing up to the harsh physical nature of air ambulance work day-to-day. Replacing these items as they approach the end of their service life with like for like will allow Team KSS to continue to provide world-leading patient care, optimising the chances of a successful outcome.

We recognise the cost of this equipment is high, but we also recognise that the value is much higher. The right tools for the right job bring the best results. Team KSS is committed to saving lives and enabling the best possible outcomes for our patients. That is why this funding is so important to us.”

The total cost of each monitor is £19,497, and we are also preparing to support  The Lions/KSS head scanner project, once patient trials confirm its viability. 

By giving something today you will truly be making a difference – without public support, KSS simply could not continue giving life-saving care, 24 hours a day. Any surplus funds raised through this campaign will go towards the next Lions project for KSS.