Thanks for taking the time to visit our JustGiving page.

Larkbridge Mortgages,  St Edmundsbury Wealth Management & CamOuse are raising money for SARS, who have been celebrating their 50th year of saving lives across Suffolk. Their overall fundraising target for the anniversary year is £50,000, and by challenging our staff members to walk 50km in the month of June, our aim is to raise £1,000 towards that overall goal.

The team at SARS are an amazing bunch! The service is completely volunteer led, and in 2021 the clinical response team (inc. anaesthetists, consultants & critical care paramedics) gave over 7,000 hours of advanced pre-hospital medical care throughout Suffolk and its border areas.

All funds raised for SARS would help fund the set-up of new SARS responders and enable the purchase of advanced monitors, ventilators and other life-saving equipment, all of which would be used to treat critically ill and seriously injured patients across Suffolk.

Please join us in raising funds for this fantastic cause! Thank you so much for your support.

History of SARS

SARS is one of the UK’s oldest emergency medical charities and has evolved significantly over the last five decades. One of the key pioneers of pre-hospital or Immediate Care was Dr Kenneth Easton of Catterick, North Yorkshire. As a GP in Catterick, Easton was acutely aware of the problems encountered when medical emergencies occurred in locations miles away from the nearest hospital. He campaigned for more recognition of the part that could be played by medical practitioners rendering immediate medical aid at the scene of incidents (at the time, ambulances lacked medical equipment and were little more than a means of transport.) Dr Easton set up the first immediate care scheme in North Yorkshire in 1967. After the success of this scheme he encouraged others to set up similar schemes in their localities around the UK. One of the first converts to Easton’s philosophy was Dr Graham Bracewell, a Wrentham-based GP, who saw the potential benefits for patients in a rural county like Suffolk. After lengthy discussions with the statutory emergency services and local health authorities, SARS became operational on the 1st May 1972. Forty two doctors volunteered in the first year of operations and began to have an immediate impact.