Governance
We work with the East of England Ambulance Service NHS Trust and a number of other charities. As a medical charity we are governed by a board of non-executive trustees and regulated by the Care Quality Commission. We were rated Outstanding in the most recent inspection.
Rated Outstanding by The Care Quality Commission (CQC)
The CQC is the independent regulator of health and adult social care in England. It makes sure organisations such as EAAA provide people with safe, effective, compassionate, high-quality care and encourages care services to improve.
It monitors, inspects and regulates services to make sure they meet fundamental standards of quality and safety. Reports and performance ratings are published on their website.
Our trustees
Sarah Evans, Chair (2019), Cambridgeshire
Sarah Evans, appointed Chair in 2022, is a chartered accountant and was a partner with Ernst & Young in London until 2008. She is an experienced non-executive director and is a former Chairman of The Wine Society and of Ipswich Building Society.
Roger Holden, Trustee (2016), Norfolk
Roger Holden has been a trustee of EAAA since December 2016 and is a member of our finance committee. He is currently the Managing Partner at Hansells Solicitors and Financial Advisors. Roger is also listed in professional journals as East Anglia’s leading expert on aviation matters and his work involves the buying and selling of aircraft, aircraft maintenance agreements, and disputes arising from aviation-related matters. Roger is an Associate member of the American Bar Association and the Law Society Practice Management Section. Roger is also a trustee of the Norwich Heritage Economic and Regeneration Trust.
Tom Wells, Trustee (2017), Bedfordshire
Tom Wells has been a Trustee of EAAA since 2017. He is a retired director of brewing, pub operations and malting companies. Currently he is a school governor, a director of property SMEs, and a former High Sheriff of Bedfordshire. He also has an IOD Diploma in Company Direction.
Tom has held a Private Pilot’s License for 15 years and is a classic car enthusiast. He has three children and five grandchildren.
Tom’s wealth of knowledge and expertise in many areas makes him a great attribute to the EAAA board.
Duncan Astill, Deputy Chairman, (2014), Cambridgeshire
Duncan works in Cambridge for Mills and Reeve Solicitors and is a partner in the healthcare and regulatory team. He advises and supports healthcare organisations in respect of compliance with a wide range of statutory requirements, such as those enforced by the Care Quality Commission; the Police; the Health and Safety Executive; and the Information Commissioner.
He helps organisations through very difficult times, often following serious incidents where there has been a fatality. Duncan believes passionately in improving patient safety and regularly helps clients to develop and improve their risk management structures.
David Richardson, Trustee (2022) Cambridgeshire/Suffolk border
David became a Trustee in June 2022. He is currently a Director of Crown Agents, a not-for-profit international development company working with donors to improve healthcare in challenging locations around the world. David became a Trustee in June 2022. He was previously CEO of the LGC Science Group, ran British Mediterranean Airways, was Commercial Director at NATS and worked as General Manager of British Airways engineering supply chain. He trained as a Chartered Accountant with Price Waterhouse.
David has held a private pilot licence for 25 years, has two sons and enjoys rowing in his spare time.
Marie Sigsworth (2023)
Marie became a trustee in December 2023. She is a senior director with over 35 years’ experience of Financial Services and more recently the technology start-up, social enterprise and non-profit sectors. She is strategic with a pragmatic approach to solving complex business issues and a strong commercial sense of what a business needs to be successful. Based on a successful track record of HR, sustainability, major change and culture development, Marie brings this expertise and enthusiasm to her work as a trustee.
Marie is passionate about playing her part in the ongoing success of EAAA and building a sustainable future for such a vital local charity. She lives in Walberswick with her husband and has a son and a daughter.
Charlotte Hignett (2023) Hertfordshire/Suffolk
Charlotte has 15 years of experience leading and advising Boards on HR strategy and business transformation including culture change, M&A and integration, rapid growth and turnaround in several sectors and ownership models.
She is a Board advisor to other charities and does a variety of volunteering in her local community, including as a Community First Responder with the East of England Ambulance Service.
Dr Tom Davis (2023)
Tom joined the EAAA Board in December 2024 having spent six years working alongside the charity in his roles within the East of England Ambulance Service. Having qualified as a General Practitioner in 2011, Tom developed a varied portfolio, within Health and Social Care, spanning Training and Education, Clinical Governance, Service Redesign and Strategic Commissioning. In 2016, Tom joined the Ambulance Service as Deputy Medical Director and left in 2022 after taking on the role of Interim Chief Executive in 2021. Since then, he has taken up a role as a Medial Director in Wales but maintains his links with the East of England and the wider NHS in England.
Tom says: “I am thrilled to be rekindling my affiliation with such a fantastic organisation, as well as with the rapidly evolving world of pre-hospital emergency health care. I have many great memories of working alongside the staff and volunteers of EAAA and the amazing work that the charity does in supporting our patients and communities. I hope to not only contribute to the clinical aspects of the charity but be part of the many wider developments of the organisation in the future.”
Executive team
Matthew Jones, Chief Executive
Matthew became CEO at East Anglian Air Ambulance in July 2021, having been Director of Operations since April 2015, and oversaw EAAA’s transition to a 24/7 service by air. He was also responsible for directing the projects to build both the Cambridge base and Helimed House, EAAA’s headquarters and operational base in Norwich.
Matthew is a natural science and MBA graduate, and after university qualified as a chartered surveyor. He has enjoyed a career that has spanned the property investment, automotive manufacturing and science park sectors. Roles have included investment management, marketing, public relations, and corporate planning functions, as well as operational management of shopping centres, vehicle production units, and Norwich Research Park.
Sarah Atkins, Director of People and Culture/Deputy Chief Executive
Sarah joined the organisation in 2015 and was promoted to the Executive Team in 2018. She is responsible for the development, engagement and general wellbeing of all staff and volunteers.
Sarah studied HRM and Business at university before obtaining her Postgraduate Diploma in HR. She joined the Charity from the East of England Ambulance Service and is dedicated to raising awareness of mental health and delivering creative engagement strategies. A lifelong resident of East Anglia, Sarah is passionate about the community. She is inspired by the commitment of all staff and volunteers in the organisation whose combined efforts help make a difference to so many people, every single day.
Stuart Wyle, Director of Fundraising and Supporters
Stuart has worked in fundraising since 2007 including roles at Marie Curie and Kidney Research UK and is also a voluntary Trustee of a local hospice charity. He started at EAAA as Head of Community Fundraising in 2016, before becoming a Director in August 2020.
As Director of Fundraising and Supporters, Stuart leads the fundraising and community training teams at EAAA. With the support of his Marketing Communications colleagues, volunteering team and volunteers, they aim to increase the number of people supporting EAAA, give everyone involved in the charity a great experience, deliver essential life-saving training in the community, and raise the money needed to continue to save lives 24/7 across East Anglia.
The charity’s life-saving work would not be possible without the generous support of the people of East Anglia, and Stuart is keen for you to contact the team and generally spread the word of East Anglian Air Ambulance – any donations, ideas and feedback are always welcome.
Victor Inyang, Medical Director
Medical Director Victor leads on all clinical matters in the charity and looks for ways to reduce the impact of trauma and medical emergency in the community.
Victor steered the charity through the transition to providing a 24/7 helicopter emergency medical service, enabling the medical teams to be there for even more patients. He has worked for the charity for 20 years.
Richard Hindson, Director of Infrastructure and Operations
As Director of Operations and Infrastructure, Richard is responsible for the entire operational and estates function of the organisation.
Richard says: “I am inspired every day by the outstanding people I work with, working for EAAA is an honour and a privilege”.
Prior to joining East Anglian Air Ambulance in 2014, Richard served for 14 years in the British Army as a Combat Medic, serving on operations in Kosovo, Iraq, and Afghanistan.
Nicki Blake, Head of Brand and Marketing Communications
Nicki is responsible for EAAA’s brand and marketing communications strategies, leading a creative team of PR, communications, marketing, digital and design specialists to raise vital awareness of the charity and increase public and supporter engagement.
As well as overseeing charity brand, she works closely with the Fundraising and Supporter directorate to welcome new supporters to EAAA, helping the teams to raise the required income to keep the life-saving service in the air and on the road 24/7.
Nicki joined the charity in 2017 with a marketing communications career that has spanned local government, not-for-profit organisations and the legal sector. She graduated from the University of Lincoln with a degree in Journalism (specialising in TV and Radio) in 2012, and has a Diploma in Professional Marketing from Cambridge Marketing College.
Gina Hardingham, Finance Director
Gina joined EAAA as Finance Director in January 2025. Having studied Accounting, Business Finance and Management at the University of York, she went on to gain Chartered Accountant status within private practice. Most recently, she worked as Chief Financial Officer in the education sector for over nine years.
As Finance Director and part of the EAAA Executive Team, Gina oversees the charity’s financial operations, ensuring income management and that the charity makes best use of donations which align with the wishes of donors.
Gina has lived in Norfolk for most of her life and is excited to work in the third sector for a charity which serves the region’s community.
