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Legislative Council - Fifty-Second Parliament, Second Session (52-2)
2012-11-14 Daily Xml
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ROYAL FLYING DOCTOR SERVICE

The Hon. G.A. KANDELAARS (15:29): Recently, I had the great pleasure of attending the Royal Flying Doctor Service of Australia Central Operations Hangar at Adelaide Airport, where I met with John Lynch, the RFDS's CEO, whom I had previously met in February at the launch of the RFDS Men's Health Pit Stop Project at the Adelaide Produce Market. I was fortunate enough to have a tour of one of the RFDS's operational Pilatus PC-12 aircraft. We were shown through the PC-12 by a very knowledgeable RFDS senior flight nurse, Vikky Denny.

The RFDS has been providing the highest quality of care to the furthest corners of our country since 1928, delivering its services in South Australia since 1955 with the opening of its Port Augusta base. As part of the largest and most comprehensive aero-medical organisation in the world, RFDS Central Operations is responsible for delivering aero-medical and primary health care services throughout South Australia and the Northern Territory, where it operates three aero-medical bases at Adelaide, Port Augusta and Alice Springs. It also manages two remote primary health facilities at Marree and Tennant Creek. RFDS Central Operations maintains a fleet of eleven aircraft, four in Adelaide, three in Port Augusta and four in Alice Springs, and employs more than 100 staff.

The RFDS Central Operations provides tasking and coordination of its entire fleet throughout SA and NT from the RFDS Port Augusta Communications Centre, which also provides after-hours communications and tasking coordination for the RFDS Broken Hill base. The RFDS is the preferred provider of fixed-wing aero-medical services in South Australia and I applaud its continued high quality service in partnership with the Department for Health, SA Ambulance Service and MedSTAR.

Nationally, last year, the RFDS conducted more than 275,000 patient contacts. Every year, in South Australia alone, the RFDS provides 24/7 emergency aero-medical and primary health services to around 24,000 South Australians and visitors to our state. This means that every 20 minutes, somewhere in our state, the Flying Doctor is assisting somebody who is in need of medical care or treatment, including: aero-medical transfer of the sick or injured to a metropolitan hospital; immunising a child or consulting a patient at a remote fly-in GP health clinic; talking to someone face-to-face about a mental health issue; a health consultation over the phone with somebody who has an RFDS Medical Chest; providing access to a female GP in remote towns; or, transporting an organ recipient interstate to undergo a life-saving organ transplant operation. This is regardless of what time of day or night.

In the breakdown of patient contacts last year (2011-12) in South Australia, over 8,300 patients consulted at RFDS remote clinics, 54 per cent more than a decade ago; over 6,200 patients were transported by the RFDS aircraft, 46 per cent more than a decade ago; and over 435 patients were immunised at an RFDS remote clinic, 48 per cent more than a decade ago. The RFDS has expanded its traditional role to deliver a broad range of primary and preventative health care services to rural and remote communities. These include: a Healthy Living Program aimed at helping individuals in remote areas to adopt diet and exercise principles to support reductions in illnesses related to diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

An example was the launch of the RFDS Men's Health Pit Stop Project at the Adelaide Produce Market in February, where 150 of the workforce participated in a health screening program covering blood pressure, weight, flexibility, alcohol intake, diet and skin cancer checks. I understand that as a result of this event three participants were advised to see their GP within 48 hours. Another example is the RFDS's Primary Care Outreach Program which facilitates the provision of health clinics by physiotherapists, occupational therapists, diabetic educators and speech pathologists to rural and remote communities.

Time expired.

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