On Friday 24th July at approximately 4:50pm, BASICS Essex Headquarters, situated on Highlands Farm was directly affected by a fire and explosion, which was quickly classed as a major incident. Firstly, we would like to reiterate our sincere thanks to the outstanding firefighters and emergency services who responded with such bravery and professionalism, including many of our colleagues East of England Ambulance Service NHS Trust, in particular the HART team. Their actions ensured people’s safety during an exceptionally challenging situation. We would like to send our best wishes to the 20 individuals that were taken to Hospital following the incident, who we understand have now been discharged. These thoughts are extended to local businesses alongside anyone living in the surrounding area that has been directly impacted by the explosion. We can confirm that one of our emergency response vehicles - located on the site, suffered both windscreen and roof damage, further assessment will be required before appropriate repairs are made. We will now be operating with one less vehicle on-the-road, however we will continue to utlilise our second response car and our solo responders to ensure that we can respond to critical incidents, providing pre-hospital emergency medicine. While we have not been able to access the site over the weekend and have only had photos sent to us, we will be assessing full damages at the headquarters as soon as we are granted access, which holds essential life-saving equipment and fragile medical stocks that enable our volunteers to provide critical care throughout the county, when needed. We can confirm that we are currently reviewing options for a temporary headquarters re-location. Once we have more information in regards to these damages, we will share publicly. While we have been fortunate that our damage is minor compared with that suffered by others, we recognise the significant difficulties many now face. We are extremely grateful to the kind words and donations from the public over the weekend. We would like to re-assure you that these donations will go a long way in the road to recovery for the charity. In 2026 alone BASICS Essex volunteers have responded to over 215 critical incidents, alongside hosting several FREE CPR / Field First aid demonstrations for local businesses. As a charity that receives no statutory funding, we rely on donations and the generosity of our local community to keep our volunteer doctors and paramedics responding to critically ill and injured patients across Essex. We are therefore asking our community to support us through this unexpected and difficult period. Any donation, however large or small, will help us meet these unplanned costs and protect our ability to continue delivering vital pre-hospital emergency medicine. You can support BASICS Essex here: Donate to BASICS Essex Alternatively, text ESSEX to 70085 to donate £5, or contact kim.turner@basicsessex.org.uk directly.

BASICS Essex is celebrating the ongoing impact of funding received from The National Lottery Community Fund, which is helping ensure critically ill and injured patients across Essex continue to receive enhanced emergency pre-hospital medical care when they need it most. The charity was awarded £20,000 through The National Lottery Community Fund to support the development and operational readiness of its volunteer clinicians. The funding has been used to support training and professional development, vehicle blue light installations, emergency response activity and essential administration costs that enable the charity to function effectively. BASICS Essex volunteers respond to some of the most serious medical emergencies and traumatic incidents across the county, often providing advanced critical care at the roadside, in people's homes, or in remote locations before a patient reaches hospital. The charity's clinicians include experienced doctors and paramedics who volunteer their time alongside their NHS roles, responding to incidents such as cardiac arrests, severe trauma, major collisions, serious medical emergencies and critically ill children. Paul Gates BEM, Chairman and Co-Founder of BASICS Essex, said: "The support we have received from The National Lottery Community Fund is making a genuine difference to our ability to provide enhanced pre-hospital critical care across Essex. "Every training session delivered, every clinician equipped to respond and every emergency call attended helps improve outcomes for patients facing some of the worst moments of their lives. We are incredibly grateful to National Lottery players whose support makes this possible." The funding has helped ensure BASICS Essex clinicians remain equipped, trained and ready to respond whenever they are needed, while also supporting the behind-the-scenes infrastructure required to coordinate emergency responses across the county. In 2025 alone, BASICS Essex volunteers attended more than 300 incidents, and demand for the charity's specialist support continues to grow. As BASICS Essex continues its mission to bring hospital-level expertise to patients before they reach hospital, the charity would like to thank The National Lottery Community Fund and National Lottery players for helping make that work possible. For more information about BASICS Essex, volunteering opportunities, fundraising initiatives or ways to support the charity, visit www.basicsessex.org.uk.

A man whose dedication has helped shape pre-hospital emergency care across the United Kingdom has been awarded the British Empire Medal (BEM) in The King's Birthday Honours List 2026. Paul Gates, current Vice-Chair of the British Association for Immediate Care (BASICS) and Co-Founder and Chairman of BASICS Essex, has received the honour in recognition of more than two decades of service to healthcare, clinical education, organisational development and Pre-Hospital Critical Care. The award particularly recognises Paul's longstanding commitment to the British Association for Immediate Care, the national organisation supporting doctors, paramedics and other healthcare professionals who provide immediate and enhanced/critical care to critically ill and injured patients before they reach hospital. Paul aged 56, from Rayleigh Essex, first joined BASICS in 2004, and undertook the Association’s Advanced Pre-Hospital Care Course before successfully sitting the Diploma in Immediate Medical Care through the Royal College of Surgeons in 2005, balancing his studies alongside his professional commitments. He was one of the few paramedics to pass this prestigious exam first time in its early years. His passion for improving patient care quickly extended beyond frontline clinical practice. While serving as Director of Operations for Wiltshire Ambulance Service NHS Trust Paul became actively involved with SWIFT Medics, the BASICS scheme in Wiltshire while simultaneously supporting the national organisation as an instructor, delivering specialist education and training to clinicians working within pre-hospital care. Paul played a major role in clinical education, helping deliver pre-hospital care training to more than 500 healthcare professionals during the early years of his involvement with BASICS. In 2009, Paul returned to Essex, where he became involved with the county's two existing BASICS schemes. Recognising opportunities to improve efficiency and strengthen services, he helped lead the merger of the organisations, co-founding BEARS (BASICS Essex Ambulance and Rescue Service) in 2010. The merger created a stronger and more sustainable model for delivering enhanced pre-hospital care across Essex, while supporting volunteer clinicians responding to the county's most serious medical emergencies. His leadership and organisational expertise were recognised nationally in 2013 when he was elected as a Trustee of the British Association for Immediate Care. He subsequently served as Honorary Secretary before becoming Chair of the organisation between 2019 and 2023. During this period, Paul oversaw one of the most significant transformations in the organisation's history. Between 2020 and 2021, he completed the major charity corporate restructure which saw the previous charity and BASICS Trading Ltd and BASICS Education dissolved and replaced with a single charitable company limited by guarantee – the modern British Association for Immediate Care. The changes strengthened governance, improved efficiency and positioned the organisation for future growth. At the same time, Paul commissioned a review of the educational programmes and professional development opportunities for BASICS' 1,200 members nationwide, helping ensure clinicians could continue developing their skills while the organisation successfully navigated the unprecedented challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic. This work saw the contents of the courses modernised, enabling the organisation to meet the modern needs of pre-hospital care. Stepping down as Chair in 2023 and moving into the role of Vice-Chair, Paul continues to play a key role in supporting the organisation's leadership, providing guidance, challenge and strategic oversight while balancing additional roles and family life. Today, BASICS supports approximately 1,200 members across the UK, including around 400 active volunteer responders operating through 33 immediate care schemes. These volunteers provide pre-hospital critical care in their own time, often attending some of the most critically ill and seriously injured patients in their communities. Alongside his national voluntary commitments and the continued leadership of BASICS Essex, Paul continues to serve as Deputy Chief Paramedic at the East of England Ambulance Service, where he oversees clinical practice and patient safety and experience as well as professional standards across one of the largest ambulance service regions in the country. Reflecting on the honour, Paul said: "I am both delighted and honoured to receive this award, but this recognition is not about one individual. It reflects the dedication of the volunteer doctors, paramedics and other healthcare professionals who give their own time to deliver pre-hospital critical care to patients when they need it most. "Across the UK, BASICS supports 33 immediate care charities and around 400 active volunteer responders who regularly leave their families, workplaces and personal commitments to help save lives. "I hope this award helps shine a light on the incredible work carried out by volunteers across the country, much of which goes unseen and unrecognised. It is their commitment to improving patient outcomes that truly deserves to be celebrated." BASICS Essex, which Paul co-founded in 2010, remains one of the county's leading pre-hospital emergency care charities. In 2025 alone, its volunteer clinicians responded to more than 350 critical incidents across Essex, providing advanced medical care alongside statutory emergency services. Paul's British Empire Medal serves as recognition not only of his own dedication, but of a lifetime spent supporting better patient outcomes, developing healthcare professionals and strengthening the organisations that help save lives across the UK every day.

As a small emegency medical charity, your donation will enable us to respond to more critical incidents across Essex, providing enhanced pre-hospital care to patients and help save lives across Essex. We do not receive any statutory funding and therefore rely solely upon grants and donations. Your donation will make a BIG DIFFERENCE!! Thank you for considering donating to BASICS Essex. Below are various ways you can donate, take part in our weekly charity lottery, and generate FREE donations through shopping cashback. ONLINE DONATION Donate to us through JustGiving to directly fund our lifesaving work. TEXT MESSAGE (SMS) To donate £5 , text ESSEX to 70085 To donate a sum of your choice, text ESSEX followed by the amount (no £ sign). Example: Essex 15 You will have the option to Gift Aid your donation via a reply text link. WRITE A CHEQUE If you'd like to donate by cheque, please make it payable to BASICS Essex Post it to: BASICS Essex, Unit 10, Office 1, Highlands Farm, Rettendon, Chelmsford, CM3 8EB Join our weekly charity lottery to help us raise funds, while also being in the chance to win some great prizes! Win prizes of up to £25,000 Christmas Mega Bundle prize Guaranteed BASICS Essex winners 50% of all tickets sold go to us Tickets cost just £1 per week Weekly Lottery Get your tickets Gift vouchers Lottery powered by OneLottery. T&Cs apply. See website for details. easy fundraising Free donations through easyfundraising You can raise FREE funds for us when you shop through easyfundraising. There are 4,000 shops and sites on board ready to make a donation – including eBay, Argos, John Lewis, ASOS, Booking.com and M&S – and it won’t cost you a penny extra to help us raise funds. More info FUNDRAISING EVENTS Free donations through easyfundraising Fundraising events of all shapes and sizes help us to continue our lifesaving activity and grow our charity. If you would like to host an event on behalf of BASICS Essex we would love to hear from you. More Ideas

Check out the events we have going on in aid of our charity. EVENTS Run the TCS London Marathon The London Marathon is the capital's most popular sporting event, with over 50,000 people taking part last year. BASICS Essex has places available for the event. More info

Would you like to support BASICS Essex? Whether its a Community Fundraiser or Corporate Support , you help will make a BIG difference. Request a Collection Tin To display one of our BASICS Essex collection tins, please email us with your name, address and contact number. Contact Us Corporate Partnerships We are keen to speak with local businessess to discuss how we can work together. Are you in a position to consider making BASICS Essex your 'Charity Of The Year'? Read More Run the TCS London Marathon The London Marathon is the capital's most popular sporting event, with over 50,000 people taking part last year. BASICS Essex has places available for the event. Apply Now Hold a fundraising event Could you organise a coffee morning, community quiz or challenge event? Dog walks, baking, dinner parties or galas are all wonderful, sociable ways to support us! We'd love to hear from you! Get In Touch Gift Aid Declaration Form For even more ways to get involved, check out our Ways To Donate page Donate