Kent charity crowdfunds to buy helicopter
Air Ambulance Kent Surrey Sussex spends hundreds of thousands of pounds leasing their helicopter. But buying the aircraft could mean more lives are saved and more money could go towards their aftercare services for patients and families.
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00:00 A race against time, lives on the line.
00:03 Air Ambulance charity Kent Surrey Sussex currently spends nearly half a million pounds leasing
00:10 their second helicopter, which responds to some of the most serious medical emergencies
00:16 in the county.
00:17 Now KSS have a chance to buy the air ambulance for themselves, allowing them to fly for longer
00:23 and reach more people in need.
00:26 The catch? They only have until the end of May to raise the funds.
00:31 So the really important thing about raising the million pounds before the end of May is
00:34 that every month that goes by we're not making the savings that we will make when we own
00:39 our own helicopter, so the sooner we can do it the better.
00:43 Ultimately if we're not able to buy our own helicopter it means that we won't be able
00:47 to expand the number of hours that we're flying and it means that we won't be able to continue
00:51 to grow all the other initiatives like being able to fly longer term in more challenging
00:56 weather conditions or be able to grow the service that supports patients on their journey
01:01 through rehabilitation and recovery.
01:03 It was in 2020 that Giles Phillips suffered a life threatening tear in the main artery
01:09 leading from his heart. Without KSS he wouldn't be here.
01:14 I was in good health and suddenly just my life took a change that morning and it was
01:20 totally unexpected and I think that's the big thing, you don't know what's around the
01:23 corner and they saved my life. There's no way around about it. I would not be here now
01:28 having this conversation if it wasn't for them. They very much saved my life and it's
01:34 really important they get the money to get this extra helicopter so that they can save
01:38 more people.
01:40 For the Rhenum couple the same aftercare that is facing financial pressure due to the ambulance
01:44 lease was crucial for getting their lives back on track.
01:49 I think we could have just become quite unstuck really. I think we didn't have anywhere to
01:53 put our trauma and our emotions and our worries and anxieties and it was very difficult, the
02:02 memories from what actually happened. And they've been able to, I think Giles used the
02:08 word this morning, normalise a little bit about what happened and make it feel less
02:13 surreal and make it feel more, well this did happen and actually this is how we can recover
02:18 from that.
02:19 With just two months to go to secure the money they need, for KSS the cost of saving lives
02:25 has never been more apparent.
02:27 Oliver Lewis of the Saks 4 KNTV in Rochester.