Air Ambulance: "We're still expecting to have 6-8 callouts on Christmas day"
The local air ambulance service have told us about the pressures facing them this Christmas
The Kent Surrey and Sussex Air Ambulance Charity have spoken to us ahead of Christmas about what they're expecting on the day, and also what the public can do to help them.
The ambulance service have responded to over 3,000 incidents this year, and they weren't expecting any let up over Christmas
Malcom Tunneclif, who is a doctor at Kent, Surrey and Sussex air ambulance, told us about what he expects on Christmas day itself
"On Christmas Day alone we had six or seven missions. We could be tucking into Christmas dinner, Christmas lunch and we get sent on a mission, in which case it's likely our dinner will go cold."
On these missions though, Malcom told us about what the public can do in an emergency whilst they wait for the ambulance service to arrive
"We know that if someone in cardiac arrest has good basic life support early, before our teams or South East Coast ambulance get there, we know that their outcomes are so much better."
Throughout the year the air ambulance service have hosted various classes where they have taught CPR in an effort to help people be more prepared
According to their statistics 25 people a day across the region suffer a cardiac arrest out of hospital, with only one in ten surviving.
In order to keep operational, the Air Ambulance service needs to raise around £57,000 a day.
Malcom told us that although that seems like a big number, even the smallest donations go to good use
"We couldn't function as a service. The charity needs to raise £57,000 a day to keep the service running. Even the smallest amounts of go to providers with really, really important pieces of equipment."
One of the fundraisers that's upcoming for the service is their annual 'Run 31' event, where people are encouraged to raise money by running a mile a day throughout January
More details on how to get involved in that event can be found on the air ambulance charity's website