Secamb sacks staff reported for unsafe driving

An ambulance service has sacked three members of staff for unsafe driving.

South East Coast Ambulance Service (Secamb) said the ambulance crews were dismissed after two separate incidents in 2025.

Their driving was reported via an anonymous portal set up after paramedic Alice Clark died in an ambulance crash in 2022, according to the NHS trust.

The trust - which covers Sussex, Kent, Surrey and north-east Hampshire - said one person had appealed against their dismissal.

One incident involved "irresponsible driving on a motorway", Secamb said.

The other involved "two staff members driving unsafely while returning to base".

The trust's driving standards manager, Huw Watts, said: "The safety of our patients, colleagues and the public is non-negotiable.

"Where standards fall short, we will take decisive action."

Alice Clark, aged 21, died when the ambulance she was travelling in crashed into a cement lorry on the A21 near Tonbridge, Kent.

Edward Riding admitted causing her death by careless and inconsiderate driving and received a suspended prison sentence.

Three others were injured in the crash.

A coroner's report in 2024 said Secamb had failed to act on "complaints they had received from other members of their staff" about unsafe driving.

Secamb said it had since "strengthened its focus on driving standards" through training and staff engagement.

"Alice's death was a tragedy that continues to shape how we think and act," Watts said.

"We are determined to ensure that her legacy drives real, lasting change by supporting our staff, strengthening accountability and making it clear that speaking up and driving safely are essential to the care we provide every day."

In January Alice Clark's parents Gill and Graeme Clark collected an Elizabeth Emblem - awarded by the King to the next of kin of public servants who died in the line of duty.

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