Duncan Bootland

With the seasons starting to change, longer days and more sunshine and are on their way.... 🌻 Thanks to your support, we can continue to be there for those who need us when every second counts, no matter the season 🚁

I’m delighted our Research & Innovation Team has played a key role in a major study on pre-hospital blood transfusions, examining if whole blood improves survival for severely injured patients. More: aakss.org.uk/prehospital-bl… #AirAmbulance #SavingLives #TraumaCare

On Monday I had the enormous honour of giving the opening speech for the Douglas Chamberlain Education Centre. Douglas was one of the true giants of modern medicine. A cardiologist who quite literally helped change the way the world responds to cardiac arrest. His work on resuscitation, emergency care and the development of paramedic training has saved countless lives across the globe. But what made Douglas so remarkable was not just the scale of his achievements – it was his belief that knowledge should be shared, and that education has the power to transform patient care. He was passionate about training others, breaking down traditional hierarchies in medicine and helping build the multidisciplinary teams that emergency care now depends on. The education centre that now bears his name is therefore a perfect tribute. A place dedicated to learning, collaboration and improving care for patients – exactly the things Douglas spent his life championing. For many of us working in emergency medicine, his influence runs through almost everything we do. It was a privilege to help open a centre that will continue his legacy for generations to come.

Can artificial intelligence help my daughter – and hundreds of thousands of other children with rare conditions? I truly hope it can. My article in this week’s Mail Health section explains how. dailymail.co.uk/health/article… It’s a long read (free to access), but the science is extraordinary and the hope it offers could be life-changing. Please do take the time to read it and share the story – and the work of the charity we have set up to turn science into hope: Rare People – The Research Charity. When our daughter was diagnosed with a rare genetic condition, we were told there was no treatment – only therapy and support. But over the past year I’ve discovered that medicine is changing beyond anything we could have imagined. With the help of AI and new ways of repurposing existing drugs, there is real hope that treatments for rare conditions could be found far more quickly than we once believed. That’s why we founded Rare People – The Research Charity: to fund research that could make this hope a reality, but which currently receives little funding because there are no obvious pharmaceutical profits. On Sunday we held our launch night, attended by more than 500 people. I’m incredibly grateful to everyone who helped make it happen. We heard from scientists from the United States, parents of children with rare conditions, and researchers hoping to lead the first UK trial. We were also honoured to have the support of Brighton & Hove Albion, with Fabian Hürzeler speaking as a charity ambassador and Tony Bloom as one of our patrons. So far we have raised £100,000 of the £250,000 needed to fund the first trial we will sponsor. After that, we hope to grow into a major research-funding charity giving hope to thousands of families. If you would like to find out more, become a founding member, support us as a business partner, or take part in a sponsored event, please email enquiries@rarepeople.org or visit: rarepeople.org To donate please go to: checkout.justgiving.com/944tksa6tk

Teams remain deployed and continue search operations in Xai Xai, Gaza Province, working closely with local authorities and partner agencies. In challenging conditions, responders have rescued 22 individuals from an area near a bridge, where they had been stranded without access to food or water for an extended period following the flooding. Search and rescue operations are ongoing, with teams continuing to act on local intelligence, assess surrounding areas, and work alongside partners to reach anyone still isolated or at risk. #UKISAR #SearchAndRescue #FloodResponse #MultiAgency #HumanitarianResponse #LifeSafety #EmergencyResponse @FCDOGovUK @UKinMozambique

*** We have a our Trainee Critical Care Paramedic vacancy live. *** Looking for a new challenge check out the link below. An opportunity to build on existing skills and experience within a developed programme. @SECAmb_CCP trac.jobs share.google/QdTWCZgSBI5prB…

Trainee Critical Care Paramedic recruitment open. It’s that time of year again, we are excited to invite applications for @SECAmbulance CCP. This year vacancies are in Kent. Details and apply here - apps.trac.jobs/job-advert/770…

UK ISAR Overview UK ISAR is comprised of specialists from 14 Fire and Rescue Services, alongside canine teams, medics, vets and structural engineers. As the UK Government’s official response to international humanitarian disasters funded by @FCDOGovUK , the team is trained and ready to assist anywhere in the world. With constant training and a high state of readiness, UK ISAR can deploy from its national point of departure within 6–10 hours, working under the UN system to locate survivors, support affected communities and deliver critical humanitarian assistance when every second counts.

Secure your festive favourites with a discount! Use code blackfriday25 for 25% off our Christmas cards, calendars and wrapping paper! But be quick, this code is only valid for one week. Order by 5 December to guarantee Christmas delivery. Shop today! aakss.org.uk/shop/

Calling all Scouts and Leaders! We’re launching a new KSS Scouts Challenge Badge in the new year, with missions that teach CPR and how our pilots find safe landing sites in an emergency. Register your interest and be first to hear when it launches: ow.ly/uUcN50Xy2g2

This is amazing work from the team @airambulancekss and central to our aim to reduce deaths from cardiac arrest.

Thank you to everyone who joined us at our Winter Ball. Together you raised an incredible £94,640 to support our lifesaving work. A huge thank you to our sponsors @GamaAviation @geweclimitedEN, @BrodiesLLP, @knightfrank, Thorne Group and Black Lion Press. You help keep us flying.

During Road Safety Week 2025, please think about what you can do to make our roads safer. Make sure your car's safety features are on and that you know how they work. Watch the video below to find out what you should check for. Let’s make every journey as safe as possible!

Today marks the start of #RoadSafetyWeek. At @airambulancekss we'll be helping @Brakecharity to encourage drivers to make sure their vehicles are as safe as possible to help reduce the terrible toll of death and injury on our roads. aakss.org.uk/road-safety-we…

NHSE and DHSC deserve a lot of credit for this candour 👏👏👏👏 Any improvement driven by data must have meaningful and honest metrics. Aggregating performance from multiple sites hides struggling departments.

In a completely unheralded but praiseworthy move, NHSE has released site-level data for A&E performance: england.nhs.uk/statistics/sta…...

Jon and Martyn went into cardiac arrest at almost the same time. Both survived thanks to bystanders who gave CPR and our crews who flew them to hospital — where they met and became friends. Read their incredible stories of survival ow.ly/bik450Xqz3L

At the going down of the sun and in the morning, We will remember them Today on Armistice Day we will remember those who sacrificed so much for our country At 11am today we will observe a two-minute silence across Team KSS. #LestWeForget

Please share As some of you may know, a few months ago our daughter Frankie was diagnosed with an incredibly rare genetic condition called DeSanto-Shinawi Syndrome (DESSH). Only about 250 people in the world have it. It causes developmental delay, speech and swallowing difficulties, problems with coordination and balance, and intellectual disability — meaning she will need lifelong support from us. About a month after Frankie’s diagnosis, an extraordinary piece of research came out from the Mayo Clinic in the USA. Using artificial intelligence, researchers analysed over 30,000 already-licensed drugs to see if any could upregulate the remaining healthy copy of the damaged WAC gene — the gene affected in DESSH. Remarkably, the AI program identified a drug that seemed to work in lab studies, and it was then tried in one child with the same condition. The early six-month data released recently is incredibly promising — showing measurable increases in WAC protein and meaningful developmental progress. As a family, we wanted something positive to come from what has been a very difficult time. We’ve therefore set up a charity — Rare People – The Research Charity — to fund research into rare neurodevelopmental conditions like Frankie’s. The first goal is to help fund a clinical trial here in the UK to see if the same benefits seen at Mayo can be replicated in other children, and then to expand this approach to other rare genetic conditions. Most families with these conditions are told there’s no treatment — nothing that can be done except love and support. The aim of our charity is to change that: to show that there may be medical interventions which, through AI and repurposed drugs, could directly improve quality of life for these children and their families. The charity is now fully registered with the Charity Commission and has HMRC Gift Aid and JustGiving in place. You can find out more about Frankie’s condition, the research, and our plans at: rarepeople.org If you’d like to set up a sponsored event, please go to: justgiving.com/charity/rarepe… If you’d prefer to make a direct donation, please visit: checkout.justgiving.com/tycrulaz6w Thank you so much for your support — it means the world to us, and to families like ours. Rob

Every day, across Kent, Surrey and Sussex around 25 people suffer a cardiac arrest at home or in the community. For every minute their heart isn't beating their chance of survival drops by 10%. This winter, the gift of life is in your hands. ow.ly/mW8350XoqxR