Nearly one mission an hour for RACQ CareFlight Rescue
The Queensland, Australia-based RACQ CareFlight Rescue service had a busy on Sunday 22 February.
The Queensland, Australia-based RACQ CareFlight Rescue service had a busy on Sunday 22 February, when it flew 13 missions in 15 hours across Southern Queensland, using all four of its lifesaving helicopters. Usually, over the course of a year, the organisation’s crews average between three and four missions a day.
Missions began at first light, with the first tasking involving an inter-facility transfer from Gympie Hospital to Brisbane, by the Sunshine Coast-based helicopter, with the final task of the day commencing just before 21:00 hrs.
“It was a big day for our crews,” said Ashley van de Velde, CEO of CareFlight, “but we’re on standby 24 hours a day and go where we’re needed.”
Other missions on which the crews were tasked included the airlifting of a woman from a property in Kilkivan, attending a collision near Gatton that involved two vehicles, transferring a dirt bike rider who had come off his vehicle and suffered head injuries at Burgowan, and airlifting a woman who had suffered a severe allergic reaction to Griffith University Hospital.
“Any emergency field missions we attended this weekend also included the Queensland Ambulance Service and Queensland Fire Service,” added van de Velde. “We work incredibly closely with these specialist emergency teams. It sees the best possible outcomes for patients in their greatest time of need.”