Before there were flying doctors, the tyranny of distance made it hard to get medical help.
People living in remote regions would have to travel hundreds of kilometres by horse or camel to seek medical treatment when they got seriously injured. Many died before they got there.
With the Royal Flying Doctor Service (RFDS) celebrating 90 years in the air, 25 antique aircraft have taken to the skies as part of celebrations in an Antique Air Pilgrimage following the original flight path.
The aircraft will travel for nine days across the rural landscapes of NSW and Queensland with the final leg of the air pilgrimage following maiden route that took place on May 17, 1928 from Cloncurry to Julia Creek.
The RFDS began as the dream of the Reverand John Flynn, a minister of the Presbyterian Church, whose vision was to provide a ‘mantle of safety’ for people in remote, rural and regional Australia.
It has now turned into one of the world’s most comprehensive aeromedical organisations, providing 24 hour emergency cover to 90 per cent of the Australian continent.
It started with a single leased Qantas plane in 1928 and today now has a fleet of 69 planes, 115 road service vehicles and 1,400 professionals delivering emergency medical and primary health services across the country.
Every day the RFDS across Australia:
- Aeromedically evacuates 101 people to a tertiary hospital
- Transports 193 patients by road for specialist care
- Delivers 48 GP and Nurse clinics in rural and remote communities
- Delivers 30 dental consultations with fly-in fly-out or drive-in drive-out services
- Cares for 243 patients with telehealth consultations
While supported by the Commonwealth and State governments, the RFDS is a not-for-profit organisation, that relies heavily on fundraising and donations from the community and commercial contracts to purchase and medically-equip aircraft and to finance other major capital initiatives.
