The Royal Flying Doctor
Service started in 1928
with the Reverend
John Flynn and
the first flight from
Cloncurry (Australia),
way back 83 years ago.
Welcome, joyful viewers,
to this edition of
Good People, Good Works.
Our show features
the Royal Flying
Doctor Service
of Australia (RFDS),
a non-profit organization
that uses the latest
in aviation, medical
and communications
technology to provide
24-hour, emergency
medical services
and primary
healthcare services
throughout Australia.
The group was founded
in 1928 by Presbyterian
minister Reverend
John Flynn, who saw
“the daily struggle
of pioneers living
in remote areas where
just two doctors provided
the only medical care
for an area of
almost two-million
square kilometers.”
Nino Di Marco
is the chief executive
officer of the Queensland
section of the RFDS.
It began with the vision
of John Flynn
to essentially be able
to bridge the gap.
Australia’s a large country
and he was very keen
to make sure that
we had health services
delivered to those in
rural and remote areas.
And that was his vision
and still is
our vision today.
The Royal Flying
Doctor Service,
touching the lives of
tens of thousands of
Queenslanders each year.
To the people of the bush,
the service means survival.
All RFDS aircraft in
Queensland are mobile
intensive-care units.
The Flying Doctor
provides aero-medical
services to every square
meter of Queensland,
from its bases
in Brisbane, Bundaberg,
Cairns, Charleville,
Mount Isa, Rockhampton,
Townsville
and Longreach.
The great thing, I think,
about Australia
in particular is,
anyone that is working,
travelling or living
in rural and remote areas
of Queensland and
the rest of Australia,
if they have a need
for the RFDS, we will
go out and provide our
services and at no cost
to them individually.
It’s just a significant
thing to be able to know
that if you are in trouble,
you don’t have to worry
about what it’s going
to cost to get someone
to help you.
So what we have is
the ability to basically
be able to get to anyone
within Queensland
within two hours, and
that’s something we value
and we try and work
to gain the resources
that we need.
But essentially,
anyone in Queensland;
(you) don’t have to be
a Queenslander, they can
come from different parts
of Australia or different
parts of the world,
but if they do need
our services, that’s
what we’re there for.
When I made the phone call,
and they said, "Okay,
Michelle pack your bags,
you’re off.
And that’s when
I went into a bit of panic,
and I thought, “Oh,
I’m not ready for this.
I’m only 30 weeks
(pregnant) and it
shouldn’t be happening.”
His lungs weren’t developed.
I think being so far
out of town, not having
that (medical) equipment,
I don't think he would
have survived at all.
We would have lost him,
for sure.
It's a great service,
the Flying Doctor and we
appreciate it very much.
I think we’ve got the best
system in the world.
How many staff members
does the Royal Flying
Doctor Service have?
At the moment we have
just in Queensland alone,
400 staff,
and that’s mainly pilots,
doctors, nurses,
a whole range of allied
health professionals and
also our support services.
Australia-wide
we have over 750 staff.
So my job mostly
these days, while
I’m a practicing doctor,
is mostly involved
in the administration.
So I have oversight
of all of the services
that we deliver.
So making sure
that all the services
we deliver are
of the highest quality
and patient safety,
and making sure that
we are trying to achieve
our aims of
equitable healthcare
for all Queenslanders.
The aircraft used
by the RFDS
are specially retrofitted
for the organization’s
lifesaving work.
Our aircraft when
we buy them,
we buy them essentially
as a shell.
So it’s an aircraft that
has been stripped
from the inside.
It’s flown over from
usually the United States
by our own pilots.
And then we fit it out
with aero-medicals;
so stretchers, a couple
of seats, all the medical
equipment, oxygen,
essentially into
an intensive-care unit.
So that’s a significant
amount; it’s about
a million dollars
to fit out an aircraft.
Here in Queensland,
we have over 20 aircraft
in the fleet and
56 Australia- wide.
I like being out in the bush,
and I like the people
that we meet.
The true people we meet
of Australia are out here,
and they're the salt
of the Earth.
And everyone is always
pleased to see you
when you arrive.
However awful
the accident or the scene
that we're going to,
they’re always so grateful
and happy to see us
because I think
they just think, "Great,
the Flying Doctors
are here!"
John Flynn's vision
is definitely still working
today.
We’re not specialists, really.
We’re sort of jack
of all trades.
But we are expected
to deal with
whatever turns up.
And that can be
a bit scary at times.
You may be going
to something
you’d never seen before.
Usually our crew
comprise a pilot, a nurse,
and a lot of our work
in terms of
transferring patients
from one hospital center
to another is with a nurse.
Our doctors often
accompany those and
they definitely will be on
as part of the crew
for any emergency.
So usually it’s the pilot,
doctor and nurse.
Sometimes we might have
some extra staff
if it’s required, depending
on the circumstance,
but that’s essentially
the make-up of our crews.
Can you think of
a life-saving,
memorable story
that has come through
working for the
Royal Flying Doctors?
Probably the one that
comes to mind right now
and particularly is still
vivid in our memory,
is when Cyclone Yasi was
about to cross the coast
on the night of the 2nd of
February this year (2011).
It was predicted
to have winds
of 300 kilometers an hour
and the decision
was made to evacuate
the Cairns Hospital.
Now Cairns Hospital
has 340 patients;
that was 340 patients
needed to be relocated
from Cairns
to various other places
throughout Queensland,
particularly here
in the southeast
and all the hospitals
that we have down here.
The very last patient
that was relocated from that
was a lady with her
two premature babies,
seven weeks premature,
and we brought them down
from Cairns to Brisbane
at 10 o’clock the morning
before, within two hours
of Cairns Airport
being closed.
That was the last flight
out of Cairns and
that was within hours
before the cyclone crossed;
it was
a touch-and-go exercise.
And it was just
a great opportunity
to really reflect and
have a look at the service
that we were able to
provide, and our people
in Cairns were able to
provide and help these
two premature little babies
being flown out of Cairns
down to Brisbane.
The other great thing was
that she was there
when Prince William
came to visit and asked
to have a look at the base
and meet the people
that were involved
in the rescue efforts.
And also she was there
as part of the group
that was there
to meet the Prince
and it was
a very special moment
to look back and see
that she was healthy
and the babies
were healthy as well.
Each year RFDS pilots
fly the equivalent
of 25 round trips
to the moon
and the charity
provides care for
nearly 270,000 patients.
The determined pilots
and staff give their utmost
to overcome challenges
to get people
the medical attention
they urgently need.
We had a significant
flood here in Brisbane
that disrupted
a lot of our activities
because our base here,
we have three aircraft here
and we’re flying
a lot of patients
from different parts
of Queensland down
into the hospitals here
in Brisbane
and that created
significant problems
in trying to keep the
service up and running.
And then we had
two tropical cyclones;
one was
Tropical Cyclone Anthony
that crossed the coast
up north.
It had some damage, but
disrupted activities again
because of
what cyclones do.
To ensure the highest-level
of service, RFDS keeps
in close contact with
the populations it assists
and solicits their opinions
in order to better serve them.
And all our services
are really built up from
a community
participation process
where we go and ask
communities what sort of
healthcare they need
and make sure
we’re not delivering
what we believe they need,
but actually giving them
what they want or what
they need themselves.
So it’s really making sure
you spend the time
to talk to people,
talk to communities,
find out
what their needs are
and which ones
aren’t being met.
For their compassionate,
selfless aid
to Queenslanders,
Supreme Master Ching Hai
provided
the Queensland section of
the Royal Flying Doctor
Service of Australia
with US$50,000
to support their
splendid work.
This will go a long way
to helping deliver
the services that we deliver.
Thank you very much to
Supreme Master Ching Hai
for this
wonderful donation
to the RFDS Queensland.
We really do appreciate it
and thank you
for coming to our offices
here today
to share this lovely day.
Thank you.
Our Association members
presented
the organization with
some beautiful gifts from
Supreme Master Ching Hai
as well.
We’ve got
“The Birds in My Life,”
some of her publications;
“The Dogs in My Life”
and “The Noble Wilds”
and we’ve got
some more books.
This is her latest,
“From Crisis To Peace”
(Thank you.)
and just some of her DVDs
and book collections.
(Thank you very much.)
You’re welcome.
(Thank you,
thank you again.)
Okay, there you go.
(Excellent!
Thank you very much)
Our sincere appreciation
Nino Di Marco,
Ian Hosegood,
and all staff
of the Queensland section
of the Royal Flying Doctor
Service of Australia
for your dedicated service
to residents in rural areas
where medical care
is not readily available.
May your organization’s
benevolent work
continue to always
deliver joy and relief
to those in need.
For more information on
the Royal Flying Doctor
Service of Australia,
please visit
www.FlyingDoctor.org.au
Cordial viewers,
thank you for joining us
on this week’s
Good People, Good Works.
May all spirits soar
forever through the grace
of the Providence.