The RFDS committed to the Best for the Bush – in partnership with the Australian Government

December 19, 2024December 19, 2024

Article supplied by RFDS The Royal Flying Doctor Service is delighted to have yesterday signed a long-term Strategic Partnership with the Australian Government until 2031-32, cementing the shared commitment to together improve the health of people in rural and remote communities.

This Strategic Partnership aligns with the ongoing support for critical RFDS services by the Australian Government and follows the Federal Budget announcement in May of this year of an additional $71.3million over 3 years for the RFDS to support the delivery of essential health services. The funding enables the RFDS to continue to deliver primary healthcare, mental health and dental services across rural and remote areas in the face of rising costs.

Speaking at the signing of the Strategic Partnership, Federal Minister for Health and Aged Care, the Hon. Mark Butler MP said:

“Over nine decades, the RFDS has provided a lifeline for people who live, work and travel in rural, remote and very remote Australia”

“The strategic agreement between the Commonwealth and the RFDS is part of our commitment to working together as genuine partners to improve health outcomes for people in the bush. Our government is committed to ensuring no-one is left behind in having access to health and medical care”.

“This additional investment from the Albanese Government ensures the RFDS can continue to provide world-class healthcare services”.

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The Murray’s are forever thankful

December 19, 2024December 19, 2024

Article supplied by RFDS

This year we are celebrating the 25th anniversary of our Dubbo base and reflecting on our incredible stories of lives saved.

Will Murray was just two years old, and one of the first people rescued by our original Emergency Retrieval team at Dubbo.

Will was tragically run over by a tractor on his family’s sheep and cattle station in Louth, NSW, causing serious internal injuries.

His mother Liz vividly remembers the terrifying moment, being far from any major hospital and an ambulance that had to travel from Bourke 130kms away.

Thankfully our Emergency Retrieval team mobilised from Dubbo and transported Will and his parents Liz and Gary back to Dubbo where they met a paediatric trauma team from Sydney and were then flown on to the Sydney Children’s Hospital by Air Ambulance.

Will was placed in a coma until hospital staff discovered the extent of his injuries which were life-threatening. He remained in a coma in intensive care for the next several days while staff monitored his internal bleeding and he underwent daily CAT scans. Thankfully Will recovered and two weeks later, he was able to return home.

Today, 27-year-old Will is living a healthy life. The Murray’s have never forgotten the life-saving role the Flying Doctor played, but it was only made possible because of supporters like you, who care about families like the Murray’s.

“It’s hard to put into words the gratitude we feel,” Liz shared. “The Flying Doctor gave us our son’s future, and for that, we’ll be forever thankful.”

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Flying dentist Dr Vai is changing the face of outback oral health

December 19, 2024December 19, 2024

Article supplied by RFDS.

The word is spreading across many of Australia’s most remote and rural communities that the ‘Flying Dentists are coming’. And the ever-expanding RFDS program to introduce regular and essential oral health services into some of Australia’s most remote and isolated regions is certainly giving many outback communities plenty to smile about. Research already shows a clear link between oral disease and specific health conditions and chronic diseases including diabetes, aspiration pneumonia and adverse pregnancy outcomes. But equally, poor oral health can also have negative impacts on speech, sleep, productivity, self-esteem, psychological and social wellbeing and relationships. Put simply, better oral health means a better quality of life for those living with chronic or life-changing dental issues. In episode #120 of the Flying Doctor Podcast, we meet one of the Flying Doctors working on the very frontier of outback oral health care delivery. RFDS Senior Dentist Dr Vaibhav Garg – or Dr Vai has his patients and work mates like to call him – has experienced his fair share of international oral health adventures during his career.

Dr Vai is pictured receiving his 2024 rural and remote health professional of the year award

But it is the time ‘Dr Vai’ has spent in some of Australia’s most remote and isolated communities that he credits most, for inspiring him to make remote oral health care his life’s work. And it was a tiny, WA wheat belt town called Wongan Hills, that became a pivotal sliding doors moment for a young dentist simply wanting to ‘make a difference’. Having recently been named the Rural Health Pros’ Rural/ Remote Health Professional of the Year, Dr Vai has big plans for the future of outback oral health care and the role that the RFDS can play in making a difference in some of Australia’s most isolated communities. Dr Vai is honoured to have spent time developing his skills in East Arnhem land, working and learning from the indigenous elders and communities about what they want and what they need from any future oral health services. Dr Vai is also a passionate advocate for making oral health an accepted and respected part of a holistic approach to western medicine, given how important the mouth and teeth are to the general health of the entire human body.

Dr Vai is pictured with some of his specialist dental team in Alice Springs

In this insightful Flying Doctor podcast interview, Dr Vai also shares how a series of ‘sliding door’ moments during his formative, student years led him away from his initial dreams of a city based ‘dental profession’ and brought him instead to a career path that continues to bring him incredible opportunities, travel adventures and a true sense of purpose and passion. From chewing fibrous plants in Uganda to treating remote communities in the mountains of Peru, Dr Vai has also experienced goanna hunting, traditional ceremonies and bush tucker education during his time in many remote indigenous communities of Australia . Importantly, Dr Vai says his incredible SA/NT RFDS team of fellow dentists, hygienists and specialised dental assistants play a crucial role in everything he does. Conducting regular clinics across SA/NT every month, Dr Vai and his team use state-of-the-art mobile dental equipment to deliver a complete suite of preventative, early intervention and treatment services ranging from simple check-ups, x-rays and hygiene services through to fillings and extractions.

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A mercy flight to Townsville was baby Selene’s only option

November 5, 2024November 5, 2024

Article supplied by RFDS.

The community of Townsville will always remember the Christmas of 2019 as a time of catastrophic floods. But the Taylor family will always recall that Christmas in Townsville for a totally different reason. Because it was also the Christmas that they very nearly lost their one-year-old baby girl, Selene, to a rare bacterial complication from tonsilitis. That ‘complication’ caused a large abscess to form on Selene’s throat, which very quickly developed into a life-threatening situation for the normally bright and active toddler. In Episode #115 of the Flying Doctor Podcast, Selene’s mum Hayley shares her family’s terrifying ordeal – along with her memories of the incredible kindness of strangers. After being told that a mercy flight from their hometown of Bucasia (near McKay in Qld) to Townsville was Selene’s best chance of survival, Hayley suddenly found herself sitting on an RFDS flight, with her gravely ill daughter by her side. With no shoes, no wallet and no phone charger, the next few days would be a rocky Christmas holiday story for everyone involved.

Selene spent many days in Townsville hospital and Ronald McDonald House

Hayley recalls that when she first noticed Selene’s symptoms – including a high fever, lethargy and obvious discomfort – she did what any worried Mum would do. She took her straight to the local hospital. But with Christmas holiday chaos impacting staff availability and waiting times, Hayley and her sick baby waited many hours in their local rural hospital’s Emergency Department before a Doctor promptly diagnosed Selene as having ‘viral tonsilitis’. Hayley and her baby were sent home to rest and recover. But Selene didn’t recover. Her symptoms increased and she developed a large lump on the side of her neck, that Hayley thought might be the beginning of mumps. Hayley called the 13 HEALTH hotline for advice and an ambulance was immediately dispatched. Selene’s condition was rapidly deteriorating and she began struggling to breath. Thanks to the prompt action of both ambulance and hospital staff, baby Selene was stabilised and multiple scans and tests soon revealed the seriousness of her condition.

Selene (pictured with mum Hayley and her younger sister Marcella) is now a happy and healthy 7 -year old

The decision was quickly made by local Doctors to airlift Selene to Townsville hospital – as flying her to Brisbane meant a longer flight, that Doctor’s told Hayley could be the difference between her ‘surviving the flight or not’. Hayley recalls the incredible care and support she received from RFDS staff that day and how much of a difference that care made to her ability to cope with such an extraordinarily stressful situation. Later, Selene would be become one of the youngest patients in Australia to undergo an emergency tonsillectomy. And thanks to the staff at Townsville Hospital and Ronald McDonald House, Hayley and Selene would also make it onto the very last flight out of Townsville, before the 2019 floods stopped all flights in and out. Today, Selene is a happy and healthy 7-year-old and Hayley has been participating in the 2024 Oceans to Outback Challenge, as her way of saying ‘thank you’ to the RFDS and the many ‘kind strangers’ who helped her family out, when they needed it the most.

A snake bite can change everything in a split second

November 5, 2024November 5, 2024

Article supplied by RFDS. “They say that life can change in a split second, and for me, it was a split second. Tom just stopped breathing,” said Tom’s wife Nicole.

What was meant to be an ordinary day in Coonabarabran for Tom quickly turned life-threatening when he was bitten by a snake. Tom jumped out of his ute to greet his wife and was struck by a snake. He felt a light sting on his foot, almost like a scratch. He looked down to see the tail of the snake slithering off into the bushes. Thinking it was likely a ‘dry bite’ considering there was no pain he wasn’t too concerned.

With only a 25-minute drive back into town, Tom decided to drive his ute. By the time they reached Coonabarabran rural hospital and Nicole had gone for help, it was almost too late.

Tom couldn’t move. Immediately after Nicole reached him, he fell unconscious in his car in the hospital car park.

Over the next gruelling hour, hospital staff continued working on Tom, stabilising him enough to rush him inside to a hospital treatment room. They connected with a medical team at Dubbo Base Hospital, who called our Emergency Retrieval team to mobilise to Coonabarabran immediately.

When an emergency occurs in the bush, people like Tom and Nicole are incredibly vulnerable. When snake bites are involved, time is even more critical. Your support is essential to ensuring our Emergency Retrieval team is ready and equipped to act.

It only took a split second for everything to change for Tom and Nicole, and it’s generous supporters like you who helped him get the emergency care he needed when his life was at stake.

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Student nurse Laura was told she would never walk or talk again

October 3, 2024October 3, 2024

Article supplied by RFDS.

On a ‘random Thursday night’ in January 2023, student nurse Laura McKenney’s life changed in an instant. As a passenger is a car that crashed near the WA town of Pingrup, Laura was thrown and then crushed by the same vehicle, as it rolled back over her. Laura was not wearing a seat belt. Earlier this year, Laura and her family visited the RFDS base at Jandokot and met the WA RFDS retrieval nurse, Lisa, who assisted Laura that night. Nearly two years on from her accident, Laura and her older sister Emily are ready to share their family’s remarkable journey and Laura’s inspirational recovery from a severe head injury and resulting stroke. In episode #110 of the Flying Doctor podcast – with their Champion Ocean to Outback Fundraiser hats firmly in place – these WA ‘Laura’s Army’ legends are also keen to thank all the first responders and RFDS front-line staff who helped to save Laura’s life that fateful night.

Hours after her accident, Laura's family were told she may never wake up. Let alone walk or talk again.

Laura’s memories from the night of her accident remain (unsurprisingly) hazy. But she does remember that there was speed and alcohol involved. Luckily, the driver and the other passenger in the car that night walked away with only minor injuries. But after she suffered an accident-induced stroke enroute to hospital, Laura’s parents and family members – including her older sister Emily – arrived at the hospital to the news that nobody ever wants to hear. Doctors warned the family that Laura may not survive. If she did, it was unlikely she’d ever regain consciousness. If she woke up, there was very little chance she would ever walk or talk again. The 21-year-old underwent an emergency Craniotomy to relieve the pressure on her brain. But it was many more weeks until her family would start to see ‘the real Laura’ come back to them again. For Laura’s loved ones, those next few weeks in hospital – waiting for her to show any signs of comprehension or recovery – were excruciating.

Laura was a happy-go-lucky student nurse before a car crash changed her life forever.

This October, Laura and Emily and their incredible ‘Laura’s Army’ team of supporters, will once again take on the RFDS fundraising Oceans to Outback Challenge. Last year, they not only managed to raise over $21,000 for the RFDS, but incredibly, Laura herself clocked up over 30km of walking as part of the group’s marathon efforts. Not bad for a girl who was told she’d be lucky to ever walk again! But you only have to talk to Emily or any of Laura’s family members to know just what a fighter this young woman is. Every day, Laura’s hard work and determination comes shining through. And every day, this extraordinary young woman is getting stronger, faster and more focused. Laura may have her own, real-life army. But every day, she’s also conquering her own battles with courage and grace – by taking one determined step at a time.

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Operation Mitchell Plateau

October 3, 2024October 3, 2024

Article supplied by RFS. It was a team effort when the RFDS was called to retrieve a woman who broke her leg hiking in one of WA’s most hard-to-reach locations.

It started with a frantic satellite phone call from the bush. A distressed woman contacted the RFDS to say she was part of a group who’d set off from the Mitchell Plateau in the Kimberley, planning to hike to the spectacular Mitchell Falls. Another woman in the group had slipped into a deep crevice between boulders, breaking her lower leg.

Reaching her was not going to be easy. The accident happened about a two-day walk from the closest airstrip, and the location was inaccessible by road or boat.

It was established that the hiker had a “tib-fib” fracture, where both bones in the lower leg are broken; a serious injury that needs prompt medical attention.

These breaks are very painful and need to be splinted quite quickly to ensure good blood supply and that you will be able to save the leg

Dr Michael Leith

A crew made up of Dr Michael, Retrieval Nurse Cassie Gaff and pilot Bryn James flew to the Mitchell Plateau, landing on a dirt airstrip. They piled into a tourism helicopter that had room to fit a stretcher and set out to find the injured woman. Spotting the group of hikers in the rugged landscape felt like looking for the proverbial needle in a haystack.

“We were flying around and had to land every half hour to call her on the satellite phone because it was too loud on the helicopter to hear anything,” said Dr Michael. “The hikers tried to give us directions and co-ordinates, but unfortunately what they gave us wasn’t quite right.”

The group put up large yellow tarps to increase their visibility. Other helicopter pilots in the area were told to keep an eye out for them. The hikers were finally spotted perched on the side of a cliff.

The next challenge was finding a safe place to land the helicopter. It needed to be on the same side of the Mitchell River as the patient – the RFDS crew didn’t fancy a river-crossing in croc-infested waters. The closest place to land was about a kilometre from the patient – and the terrain was so treacherous it took an hour to reach her on foot.

When they reached the makeshift tarp tent, the hiker was in a lot of pain. Her pulse was faint and Dr Michael was concerned about a drop in blood supply to the lower part of her leg.

“Cassie and I got to work putting in intravenous lines and giving her pain relief, trying to keep her comfortable while we put her into traction and straightened her leg out,” he said. “In a hospital, patients would usually be sedated for that but it wasn’t possible in this setting and this lady was very stoic.”

Now faced with moving the injured woman to the helicopter, Dr Michael was assisted by his colleague Bryn, the helicopter pilot and others from the hiking group to carry the woman on a stretcher, up and down over boulders and through long, snake-infested grass.

“I could see the patient breathe a sigh of relief once we were in the air,” said Dr Michael. “We even got a nice scenic flight past Mitchell Falls on the way out which she really appreciated because she hadn’t made it to the waterfall on her walk.”

The woman was flown to Broome on the PC-12 aircraft and from there to hospital in Perth on the Rio Tinto PC-24 jet, where she underwent surgery.

The dramatic turn of events hasn’t turned the woman off hiking and she’s apparently eager to complete her Mitchell Falls adventure in the future.

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Royal Flying Doctor Service WA expands Medevac Service

August 28, 2024August 28, 2024

Article supplied by RFDS.

The Royal Flying Doctor Service Western Australia (RFDS WA) has expanded its aeromedical retrieval capabilities through a new partnership with PHI Aviation.

This collaboration extends RFDS WA’s offshore medevac services to support client operations in the Bonaparte Basin.

Key highlights of the expanded service:

A dedicated doctor and paramedic/nurse retrieval team stationed at PHI’s Darwin base.

The team provides rapid medical evacuations for critical cases in remote offshore areas, and search and rescue operations.

This builds on RFDS WA’s medical evacuation services from PHI’s Broome base.

The partnership with PHI strengthens RFDS WA’s position as a leader in remote healthcare, serving the world’s largest and most remote health jurisdiction. It also generates additional revenue through a profit-for-purpose model, supporting RFDS WA’s mission to provide vital medical services to our communities.

RFDS WA conducts over 10,000 aeromedical retrievals annually, and this extension enhances our capacity to save lives in even more remote locations. The collaboration with PHI Aviation opens doors for potential partnerships with other companies operating in the region, to further extend RFDS WA’s reach and impact.

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A day in the life with the Flying Doctor: Jessie’s bite-sized experience

August 28, 2024August 28, 2024

Article supplied by RFDS.

After spending a decade as a dental hygienist in a previous life, Jessie Burling was given the chance to go back to her roots with the RFDS Oral Health team.

As part of the RFDS’s national partnership with HCF, employee Jessie Burling won the unique opportunity through an internal competition at the not-for-profit health fund, joining the RFDS Oral Health team during a clinic in the remote town of Andamooka in Far North SA.

For Jessie, the experience with the RFDS was not just a professional milestone – it was a deeply personal journey, blending her passion for dental health and volunteer work in remote areas, including communities as far afield as Nepal, with her commitment to improving healthcare access in underserved regions.

Photo: RFDS national partner HCF’s Jessie Burling.

A personal journey into the outback

Jessie’s adventure began with a flight from Adelaide to Olympic Dam, before a short drive to Andamooka, a small outback town, located in Far North South Australia around 600 km north of Adelaide.

This is the journey the RFDS Oral Health team have to make, along with more than 350 kilograms of dental gear, when delivering care to remote communities like this.

Upon arrival, Jessie found the RFDS team busy setting up over 3,000 pieces of dental equipment, preparing to deliver much-needed care to local residents. For Jessie, who worked for 10 years as a dental hygienist, this was a rare opportunity to see the stark contrast between her role at HCF’s Bondi Junction dental clinic and the challenges faced by the RFDS team in the outback.

“When you’re living this far away from a city and you end up with an abscess or an infection in a tooth, that’s something that, if we weren’t coming in, could turn quite life-threatening,” of the RFDS SA/NT Senior Dentist and Manager Oral Health Program, Dr Vaibhav Garg said.

“We’re really focusing on prevention. There are direct links between oral health and other serious conditions like diabetes, cardiac health, and kidney disease. All of these issues can be challenging to manage in remote areas like this. Delivering these clinics is about taking care of the person as a whole, and therefore the whole community.”

Photo: Dr Vaibhav Garg with a patient in Andamooka.

The heart of community care

During her visit, Jessie also spent time with RFDS Remote Area Nurse Jack King, a familiar and trusted presence in Andamooka.

“The community knows that I’m a resident here and that speaks volumes to them,” Jack said.

“We live in an isolated environment, and our aim is to manage patients’ care as effectively as possible before they require non-urgent or non-life-threatening evacuation.

“It’s a real joy for me to come to work knowing that I can assess patients, get them seen by a doctor, and ensure they receive the comprehensive care they need.

“If we didn’t have funding including private sponsorship, those essential elements of primary health and wellbeing would go unfulfilled here.

“All of that is made possible by RFDS and the support we receive from partners like HCF. It’s pretty special.”

Photo: Remote Area Nurse Jack King.

A partnership making a difference

In support of HCF’s social mission to build healthier communities, HCF’s $3 million commitment over three years will help fund the upkeep of RFDS aircraft and life-saving technologies, ensuring the delivery of crucial primary healthcare and mental health services to every corner of Australia. The collaboration between RFDS and HCF is a tangible example of how partnerships can bring about real change.

RFDS SA/NT Executive General Manager, Strategy, Brand & Reputation, Charlie Paterson, highlighted the value of this synergy between the two not-for-profit organisations.

“HCF is all about providing the human touch to its healthcare, and that’s what RFDS is about.”

Jessie’s experience exposed her to the real-life impact of the partnership at work.

“It was an incredible and jam-packed 24 hours with the Royal Flying Doctor Service, seeing how they deliver medical interventions and preventative care to people out in the bush,” Jessie said.

“HCF and the Royal Flying Doctor Service have joined forces, combining their expertise to enhance healthcare access across Australia. Our shared focus on heart health, dental care, mental health, and women’s health are areas where we can make a significant difference together.”

Photo: Andamooka is one of 14 remote communities where the RFDS Oral Health team visits regularly to deliver care.

Looking ahead

Jessie’s journey with the RFDS showcases the power of community and the difference that dedicated professionals and generous donors make every day.

“By doing what we do, day in and day out at HCF, we are part of an organisation that is bringing our human touch to healthcare,” Jessie said.

Through the support of donors and partners like HCF, the RFDS continues to be a lifeline for remote communities, ensuring that quality healthcare is accessible to all, no matter where they live.

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Murray began bleeding out internally, after he hit the handlebars of his motorcross bike

July 31, 2024July 31, 2024

Article supplied by RFDS.

Childhood sweethearts, Murray and Julie Collins, have been together for over thirty years.

And throughout their time together, they have shared an unusual passion – for the adrenalin charged sport of motorcross racing.

But back in 2003, the wheels very nearly came off Murray’s motorcross adventures, when a random miscalculation mid-race almost cost him his life.

In Episode #98 of the Flying Doctor podcast, Murray and Julie recount the day when an inter-club motorcross race at Longreach ended up with Murray being airlifted by the RFDS, suffering from major internal bleeding.

Murray Collins still races motorcross, even after his near-fatal accident in 2003

The sport of Motorcross combines high speed and jostling for a position on the track, with the challenge of obstacles.

There’s even an obstacle section known as a ‘whoops’ – which is basically a series of continuous bumps that racers can ride over, as fast as they like.

On the day of his accident, Murray recalls taking the ‘whoops’ with confidence – as he was in the leading pack of racers! But after hitting the handlebars of his bike at high speed, Murray quickly realised he had ‘really done something’. Murray had ruptured his mesenteric artery and began severely bleeding into his abdomen.

Murray and Julie's daughter, Keira, is now a highly successful motorcross competitor in her own right.

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