Celebrating ten years of the King’s helipad

26 October 2026 - Providing patients from across the country rapid access to specialist care.

Since opening on 26 October 2016, the helipad has supported over 2,300 patient transfers, with 547 of them taking place at night.

The King’s College Hospital helipad is London’s only fully operational helipad that is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Advanced lighting and around the clock access means that helicopters can land on the hospital roof after dark. Being brought to hospital by helicopter dramatically increases someone’s chance of survival as it cuts through traffic and rough terrain to deliver critically injured patients in a fraction of ground travel time.

But the significance of the helipad extends beyond the speed of arrival. It links straight to trauma units via elevators, dropping transfer times down to just a few minutes, providing a vital route to specialist care whenever it is needed. Specialist care, in some situations that only King’s can provide, such as management of complex liver trauma, advanced liver failure and access to the largest co-located Neurosciences Centre, offering children and adults continuous, real-time tracking of brain, spinal cord, and nerve function during high-risk surgeries and access multi-system critical care.

Dr Malcolm Tunnicliff, Emergency Medicine Consultant and Clinical Director for Major Trauma at King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, said: ‘We’re both excited and proud to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the opening of our helipad. As the only helipad that is open 24/7 in the Southeast of England, thousands of patients have been flown to King’s in the last 10 years by our pre-hospital partners, such as Air Ambulance Charity Kent, Surrey, Sussex, and have benefitted from more timely access to care from our dedicated major trauma team. We are indebted to the HELP Appeal charity, King’s College Hospital Charity and many members of the general public who supported the development of the helipad, and have no doubt contributed to saving lives.’

The King’s helipad was funded by £2.75 million from the HELP Appeal, the only charity in the country dedicated to funding hospital helipads, alongside £500,000 raised by patients, staff, and the local community via the King’s College Hospital Charity.

Alan Bolchover, Chief Executive of King’s College Hospital Charity, said: “When someone is critically injured, every minute counts. For ten years, the King’s helipad has helped patients reach the specialist care they urgently need. We’re grateful to all those people whose generosity made it possible.”

The HELP Appeal’s donation also covered the installation of the UK’s first Deck Integrated Fire Fighting System (DIFFS) on a hospital rooftop helipad, and it recently donated a further £56,340 to upgrade this lifesaving technology. This system automatically sprays foam from a series of nozzles installed into the helideck in the event of a fire, instead of relying on a team of firefighters to manually extinguish it.

Robert Bertram, Chief Executive of the HELP Appeal, said: “Ten years ago, the first air ambulance landed on the helipad at King’s College Hospital. For the people arriving there in the worst moments of their lives, the distance between landing and specialist care matters deeply. This anniversary is a chance to thank our supporters who made the helipad possible, which, along with the incredible emergency care team, give patients and families hope when every minute matters.”

King’s College Hospital is part of the London Trauma System and is the designated Major Trauma Centre for South-East London, Kent and Medway. Adults and children from across this region who require specialist trauma care are urgently transferred to King’s by road or air for treatment, bypassing other hospitals not equipped to deal with such severe injuries.

The majority of patient air-transfers to King’s are made by Air Ambulance Charity Kent Surrey Sussex (KSS), a charity providing a Helicopter Emergency Service (HEMS) to the south-east of England. KSS can fly a critically injured patient from the furthest reaches of the Kent coast to the King’s resuscitation room in just 25 minutes – a journey that would take over two hours by road.

Dr Duncan Bootland, Executive Medical Director at KSS, said: “For more than 15 years, King’s College Hospital has played a vital role in the care of our most seriously ill and injured patients, particularly those from Kent who require access to specialist major trauma services. The close partnership between KSS and King’s means patients can be taken directly to expert teams when every second counts. For the past 10 years, the King’s helipad has further strengthened that partnership, helping to ensure patients reach specialist care as quickly as possible and giving them the very best chance of survival and recovery.”