Two helicopters will join RFDS fleet in an Australian first
Royal Flying Doctor Service (Western Operations) Board Chair Sam Walsh AO has announced that two helicopters will join the fleet, which gives the organization and its crews greater flexibility and capability to respond to inter-hospital patient transfer requirements
Walsh commented: “This innovation delivers on the commitments made in our 2020 Strategic Direction: The Next Century to be the State’s premier patient retrieval service and keep improving health equity for all Western Australians, regardless of where they live or work. This is an essential step forward if the RFDS is to meet the increasingly complex health needs of regional, remote and very remote communities.”
IS-BAO accreditation for RFDS Queensland
Meanwhile, in another area of Australia, the Queensland section of the RFDS has become the first dedicated aeromedical provider in the Asia-Pacific region to receive the International Standard for Business Aircraft Operations (IS-BAO) Stage Three accreditation. RFDS (Queensland Section) Head of Flying Operations Shane Lawrey said safety was key to the Flying Doctor’s operations and having its positive safety culture recognised by IBAC, was a huge achievement for the Service.
“Only two other aviation organisations in Australia have achieved Stage 3 and both are corporate jet operators. In contrast, the RFDS is a complex, high-volume, high-risk operation spanning both healthcare and aviation,” Lawrey said, adding: “Our safety management systems have been proven to compliment and integrate both operations, so to be formally recognized in this manner reinforces our commitment to the well-being of our staff and patients.”
RFDS (Queensland Section) CEO Meredith Staib said she was incredibly proud of the organization’s ongoing pursuit of improved safety standards: “The International Standard for Business Aircraft Operation is the benchmark of safety and professionalism accreditation for aviation providers such as the RFDS. This achievement is the culmination of six years of hard work by our pilots, engineers, and aviation support staff, who helped us attain IS-BAO Stages 1 and 2 consecutively. To then achieve Stage 3 is testament to our staff’s dedication to the safety of their colleagues and the people of Queensland, who we have proudly served for the past 92 years.”