The air ambulance trust serving Kent has announced the departure of their chief executive.

The Kent, Surrey and Sussex Air Ambulance Trust (KSSAAT) confirmed the recent departure of Adrian Bell, its boss of eight years as he returns to his navy roots and takes up the helm as CEO of the Royal Navy and Royal Marines Charity.

Mr Bell has been replaced by Michael Docherty on an interim basis.

A spokesman for the trust said: "Michael looks forward to driving the trust’s mission of saving more lives and improving clinical outcomes across the region. As a trustee of the KSSAAT, Michael knows the organisation inside-out and is passionate about maintaining the world-class standards of service the trust provides. He will step down from his position as trustee while acting as interim CEO and until a permanent CEO is appointed.

"Michael was most recently director of digital and supporter experience at Cancer Research UK where he led a broad range of teams including digital, strategic marketing, operations and customer service in several locations across the country. Among many significant achievements during his time at CRUK, he was responsible for leading digital transformation at the charity (the UK’s largest), delivering the research hub and new clinical trials database and building its fundraising and event platforms.

"Looking forward, the appointment of a permanent CEO is, of course, an important one, and the Trust will utilise the services of a specialist recruitment agency to secure the very best person who can help it drive ahead its ambitious plans for continuous improvement. KSSAAT is confident that the leadership transition process will run smoothly and will not impact in any way the day-to-day running of the organisation.

"Throughout this brief interim period, the trust remains steadfastly dedicated to moving forward with the exciting new services, projects and partnerships that are already underway. In August 2018, KSSAAT’s charity base will move to Rochester and in September 2018 its new AW169 helicopter will be fully operationalised – meaning two of this aircraft type will now be in service – substantially improving the Trust’s performance and operations."

Helen Bowcock, chair of KSSAAT’s board of trustees, stated: “We at the trust would like to thank our departing CEO, Adrian Bell, for his eight years of service and dedication leading KSSAAT.

"His passion and commitment have seen KSSAAT become recognised as one of the leading air ambulance services in the world. We wish him all the best as he returns to his passion with the armed services and takes up a role closer to home.

“We are extremely pleased by the appointment of Michael Docherty to the position of interim CEO to drive forward our ambitious plans for the Trust. He has been an exceptional trustee, successfully leading the board’s income generation committee, and is extremely well placed to build upon the trust’s existing position of strength. The trust is in an exciting period of growth and transition, and Michael is just the person to navigate us through this time as we now move to appoint a permanent CEO. Until then, we are very much ‘business as usual’.”