Inspirational London Ambulance Service staff to take part in daredevil challenge…will you be joining them?

London Ambulance Service (LAS) staff are among those taking part in an upcoming London Ambulance Charity abseil off one of London’s famous football stadiums.

A hundred thrill-seekers will scale Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Friday 14 March before taking the plunge and descending off the edge of the 42-metre-high roof.

Although tickets for the Big Stadium Abseil initially sold out, we have secured 30 more spaces for brave Londoners who would like to sign up and raise money to fund life-saving defibrillators, CPR training, and wellbeing initiatives for LAS staff.

The charity’s outreach prompted Paramedic Susan Lucas to sign up. She said she has a real passion for universal access to CPR and public access defibrillator training.

She said: “The London Ambulance Charity holds great personal significance for me, having been a paramedic for several years. The charity plays a pivotal role not only for the patients and communities across London, but also for our staff.

“By supporting this charity it not only helps fund equipment and training to provide life-saving care in the community, but equally importantly it supports our staff wellbeing. The physical and emotional demands of frontline health care work can be very intense and therefore ensuring staff wellbeing is crucial to maintaining a resilient and effective service. By funding initiatives the charity helps staff to continue delivering exceptional care to the people of London.”

Sharon Anthony has also signed up for the adrenalin-fuelled feat. She has been with the Service for 22 years since joining as an Emergency Medical Technician at Friern Barnet in her mid-twenties.

Now 48 years old, Sharon is excited for the challenge and the opportunity to support the London Ambulance Charity, but admits she is not keen on heights.

Explaining her reasons for signing up to this exhilarating challenge, she said: “I want a challenge to take me out of my comfort zone and do something a little different. The London Ambulance Charity is such a worthy cause and so I wanted to help by raising money. The charity is really important in how it helps our city and our staff.”

The mum-of-two added her two sons, aged 16 and 18, while supportive and keen to watch her attempt the challenging feat, have admitted to being shocked by her decision to sign up.

But Sharon is determined to complete the challenge, adding: “I’ve never abseiled before in my life so I’m looking forward to that challenge.”

Ellie Buckley, 23, has a history of signing up to charitable initiatives supporting the London Ambulance Charity – having completed the O2 Climb last year.

After two years working at the Service as an Assistant Ambulance Practitioner (AAP), working alongside a paramedic on an ambulance, she’s more determined than ever to support the charity and give back to the Service, which she says has supported her in lots of ways during her career.

She said: “When I suffered an ankle injury, I had to have physio therapy and if it wasn’t for the Trust who paid for the physio and got me the help I needed, there’s no way I would have been back on my feet as quickly as I was.”

Ellie also urged others to sign up to the challenge.

She said: “This job involves a lot of going into the unexpected and pushing yourself when you’re not necessarily comfortable. But whenever I’ve done that in the past I’ve found it to be a really rewarding experience. So to others who are on the fence about signing up, I’d say go for it – face your fears and I’m sure you’ll love it in the end.”

Paramedic Nathan Ross has also taken part in previous challenges to raise money for charity, including the London Landmarks Tower Climb and abseiling off the Leadenhall Building (also known as the ‘Cheesegrater’) building.

He said he was attracted to taking part in the Tottenham Stadium abseil challenge due to support he’s received from the London Ambulance Service wellbeing services and the charity as they have helped him through some really tough times in his career.

He said: “I wouldn’t be working as a frontline paramedic today if I hadn’t received the amazing support they gave me. It helped shape me into the person I am today both in and out of the workplace.”

If you are interested in supporting the charity’s vital work by taking on this adrenaline-fuelled challenge, please register for the event here. A registration fee of £25 per person will apply. You can also sponsor those already signed up to take part here. Participants taking part in the event are asked to raise £100 for charity.