On Friday 24th. July, a large group of Uckfield & District Lions, with other members from 105SE region, visited KSS Air ambulance’s base at Redhill aerodrome. We were met by Helene Poursain, their publicity & fund-raising manager, given refreshments & a fact-filled talk on the problems of raising £57,000 per day, which is the cost of keeping their helicopters flying!
Her act was followed by our own Uckfield lion Leigh Curtis, CEO at Redhill, who gave us a detailed tour of the building, explaining the mechanics of how they respond to an emergency. During this, we met the pilots, doctors & paramedics on stand-by, & were shown how they go into action.
The climax was of course, to visit a helicopter standing ready on the tarmac. Leigh & a pilot colleague invited us to climb inside, patiently answered all our endless questions, & explained every aspect of the helicopter. Our thanks go to Leigh & his staff for giving us an in-depth & expert insight into KSS AA, with additional arcane information on aviation, weather forecasting & emergency medicine in the field.
We returned with our enthusiasm to continue fund raising for KSS Air ambulance rejuvenated!