Help Improve South East Coast Ambulance Service

SECAmb has various avenues for you to get involved:

Trust Membership

Being a Trust Member helps shape the future of your ambulance service.

As a member, you must be over the age of 16 and you can get involved as much or as little as you like. SECAmb doesn't expect all their members to come with knowledge of the ambulance service, or even to have used an ambulance (though they are keen that a number of their members have used the services). You can shape your ambulance service by having a vote in Governor elections or even by standing as a Governor and having access to a member-only newsletter. It’s a great way to support and engage with your local ambulance service and it could lead to future opportunities as a colleague or volunteer, e.g., Community First Responders.

Find the member information page here: https://www.secamb.nhs.uk/join-us/become-a-member/

Community Forum

SECAmb launched a Community Forum in September 2023. It is a virtual meeting held on MS Teams for patients to come along and share their experiences of using 111/999 services with a view to identifying Quality Improvement projects from the discussions. These meetings invite a SECAmb representative to give a brief update on their current work programme/project. They then open the floor up to the group for questions and feedback. This is a bi-monthly meeting.

Focus Groups

When a project within the Trust requires input from the patient perspective, SECAmb sometimes holds focus groups in which they invite 6-10 patients to attend a 2-hour (approximately) session. They ask 2-3 key questions and record input which is then analysed and used to progress the work with patient opinions. They may sometimes hold several of these to keep a project informed with the patient's voice as the work evolves. These meetings are scheduled as and when needed.

Mind mapping sessions

These are in-person meetings to help with the planning of projects during the early stages of development. This is a very interactive and engaging method for gaining the involvement of their patients and sometimes colleagues.

For more information:

Visit the South East Coast Ambulance Service Website or contact Denis Cherian, Patient Engagement Administrator: denis.cherian@secamb.nhs.uk

You can also download their Being a Trust Member flyer here: