SECAmb, Dartford's ambulance service, honoured a pub landlord whose 8 minutes of CPR in the rain saved a window cleaner, at Kent awards marking 1,030 years.

South East Coast Ambulance Service (SECAmb), the trust that answers 999 calls across Kent and Medway, Dartford included, has held its Kent awards, and the headline commendation went not to a paramedic but to a pub landlord.

René Renault, who runs the Red Lion in Bridge, near Canterbury, received a Chief Executive’s Commendation for Honouring Public Service. He gave Joe Carver, a window cleaner, eight minutes of CPR in the pouring rain after Joe went into cardiac arrest while working at the pub on 14 November 2025. Joe was treated in hospital, went through cardiac rehabilitation and has made a full recovery; he is back at work, the trust said.

From the 999 call to the roadside

The ceremony, at The Orangery in Maidstone on Thursday 29 October, put René and Joe in the same room as everyone who handled that day. Emergency Medical Advisor Caitlin Davis answered the 999 call. Prudence Moore, Mollie Smith and Teresa Morris were the ambulance colleagues who cared for Joe at the scene. Thanet Operational Team Leader David Latham, who nominated René, was there too.

René’s own words were about Joe, and about the next time:

“Finding out that Joe made a full recovery is an incredible miracle. We are now raising money for an extra defibrillator so that our community is better prepared if something like this happens again.”

The order of events is the one every bystander in a cardiac arrest faces: a call to 999, a call handler on the line, someone doing chest compressions until the crew arrives. René did the last part for eight minutes.

Five more commendations

The trust gave Chief Executive’s Commendations in five other categories:

  • Acting with Courage: Community First Responder Warren Fassenfelt.
  • Demonstrating Kindness: Community First Responder Tutor Jody Love.
  • Excellence in Clinical Practice: Amy Igweonu, Danny Speed, Harry Kirkby, Emma Webber and Ian Spencer, for a digital project that changed how the trust communicates with patients. SECAmb says it delivered more than £200,000 in calculated efficiency savings and returned more than 1,000 hours to patient care.
  • Celebrating Inclusivity: EDI Advisor Anthony Walker-Banfield.
  • Recognising Voluntary Service: Wellbeing Volunteer Bob Sheridan.

1,030 years between them

More than 140 colleagues and their families came to the evening. The evening marked 1,030 years of service, the trust said, and 46 colleagues were recognised for long service. Patrick Fagan and Roger Hext each received an award for 40 years, eight decades between the two of them.

Mrs Victoria Wallace DL, Deputy Lieutenant of Kent, presented The King’s Medal for Long Service and Good Conduct on behalf of the King. The ceremony also remembered seven colleagues who died in service during the past year.

SECAmb was formed on 1 July 2006 when the Kent, Surrey and Sussex ambulance trusts merged. It covers 3,600 square miles and more than 4.9 million people across Kent and Medway, Surrey, East and West Sussex, Brighton and Hove and part of north-east Hampshire, runs NHS 111 in Kent and Sussex, and employs more than 4,000 staff at 60 sites. Anyone can join the trust as a member for free and receive its newsletter of health tips and invitations to its events (secamb.nhs.uk).

Last week the trust also thanked a four-year-old Kent girl for helping on her mum’s 999 call: Delilah, 4, Thanked for Helping on Mum’s 999 Call.