Royal Flying Doctor Service facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Royal Flying Doctor Service

Abbreviation	RFDS
Predecessor	AIM Aerial Medical Service
Established	15 May 1928; 97 years ago (1928-05-15)
Founder	John Flynn
Founded at	Cloncurry, Queensland, Australia
Type	Not-for-profit organisation
Legal status	Charity
Region served	Australia
Services	Air ambulance
Federation Board Chair	Tracey Hayes
Deputy Federation Chair and Independent Director	John O'Donnell

The Royal Flying Doctor Service (RFDS) is often called the Flying Doctor. It is an air medical service in Australia. This group is a non-profit organisation. It gives emergency and basic health care to people in remote parts of Australia. These people cannot easily get to a hospital or doctor because of the huge distances in the Outback.

How Did the Flying Doctor Service Start?

A "Safety Net" for the Outback

A Qantas plane, a De Havilland DH.50, used as an ambulance. It brought a patient to Brisbane in 1931.

The Reverend John Flynn worked in country areas of Victoria. The Presbyterian Church asked him to study the needs of people living in the outback. In 1912, his report led to the Australian Inland Mission (AIM) being set up. Flynn became its leader. In 1928, he started the AIM Aerial Medical Service. This was a one-year trial in Cloncurry, Queensland. This trial later grew into the Royal Flying Doctor Service.

Flynn's work involved building hospitals in bush towns. But this did not help people who lived very far from any main town. He often told sad stories about people in the bush. One story was about Jimmy Darcy in 1917. Darcy was a stockman at Ruby Plains. This was a remote cattle station in Western Australia. He was found hurt with a serious internal injury. His friends took him over 30 miles (12 hours) to the nearest town, Halls Creek. There, FW Tuckett, the Postmaster, was the only person with first aid training. Tuckett knew he could not help Darcy much. He tried to contact doctors in Wyndham and Derby by telegraph.

He finally reached a doctor in Perth. The doctor guided Tuckett through two operations using morse code. The only sharp tool available was a pen knife. Darcy was operated on while strapped to the Post Office counter. He was given whisky to help with the pain. The doctor then traveled for 10 days to Halls Creek. He used a boat, a car, a horse-drawn carriage, and even walked. But Darcy had died the day before. The operations had worked, but Darcy died from an undiagnosed illness and a burst abscess.

Stories like this made Flynn and the AIM want to find a way to connect remote areas. But they couldn't find the right technology at first.

How Planes and Radios Changed Everything

[AIM Aerial Medical Service] AMS radio, Alice Springs

A pilot named Lieutenant (John) Clifford Peel heard Flynn speak. In 1917, he was sent to France for World War I. He wrote to Flynn, saying he had seen a doctor visit patients in isolated places using a plane. Flynn liked the idea of using aircraft. He published Peel's idea in the church's newsletter. Peel died in combat in September 1918. He likely never knew how much he helped create an Australian icon.

Another new technology was being made: radio. It could replace the slow telegraph. Flynn worked with Alfred Traeger in the mid-1920s. They wanted remote places to contact a main medical base. The pedal radio was their first success. These radios were given to stations, missions, and other homes near Cloncurry. Cloncurry was the base for a 50-watt transmitter.

Trial air medical services began in 1926. In November 1927, an injured miner was flown from Mount Isa to Cloncurry.

By 1928, Flynn had raised enough money. The AMS experiment started on May 15. Supporters included industrialist HV McKay, doctor George Simpson, and Hudson Fysh. Fysh was one of the founders of Qantas. Qantas gave the first plane to the new service. It was a De Havilland DH.50 called "Victory." On May 17, 1928, the first official flight took off from Cloncurry. Pilot Arthur Affleck flew 85 miles to Julia Creek. Over 100 people met the plane at the airstrip. Qantas charged two shillings per mile for the plane that first year.

Growing and Succeeding

[AIM Aerial Medical Service] AAMS Building, Alice Springs

The building for the dispatch service in Alice Springs.

In its first year, the service flew about 20,000 miles on 50 flights. It became the world's first full air ambulance service. The service kept going through tough times. These included Australia after the war and the Great Depression in the 1930s. For its first few decades, the service relied a lot on community fundraising and donations. Today, the government helps support the service. But it still needs donations to buy and equip its planes.

Until the 1960s, the service mostly hired planes, pilots, and technicians. After that, it started buying its own equipment and hiring its own staff.

In 1932, the Cloncurry operations were a success. People became more aware of this important service. This led to a push for a national network of flying doctors. In 1934, this happened. The new Australian Aerial Medical Service opened "Sections" across the country. Bases were set up in Wyndham, Port Hedland, Kalgoorlie, Broken Hill, Alice Springs, and Meekatharra. The Queensland service added two more bases in Charters Towers and Charleville. An official Federal Council for the group was formed in 1936.

In 1937, Dr Jean White became the first female flying doctor in Australia and the world. She started work at Normanton. In 1942, the service was renamed the Flying Doctor Service. It was given the title Royal in 1955. On October 22, 1958, Holden car makers gave their 500,000th vehicle to the service in Melbourne.

Sister Myra Blanch was one of the first nurses, called "Flying Sisters." She was very important in the New South Wales Section in the 1940s and 50s. Flying Nurses became common in the 1960s. Many patients are flown with only an RFDS nurse and pilot on board. Nurses have made many improvements to the service. One was adding a "body chart" to the RFDS medical chest in 1951. This chart showed a human body with numbered areas. A doctor could ask a patient "where is the pain felt?" and get a clear answer. The medicines in the chest are also numbered to make instructions easy to understand.

A sign on the Eyre Highway showing an RFDS emergency airstrip is ahead. There are three such strips on this highway.

The service still relies a lot on community support for money. This comes from events like the Simpson Desert Bike Challenge. It is highly respected across Australia. It has helped many rural and remote communities.

Its services include:

• Emergency flights for accidents or illness.
• Emergency flights to move patients between hospitals.
• Non-emergency transport by air and road ambulances.
• Telehealth: 24/7 medical advice by radio, phone, or video call.
• Primary health care clinics: Doctors fly to remote areas for regular visits. These clinics offer general practice, nursing, child and maternal health, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health, mental health, dental services, and specialist care.
• Advice and support for doctors in rural and remote Australia.
• Moving patients from one hospital to another.
• Training and scholarships for midwives.

The service also uses four-wheel drives and other land vehicles for transport and communication.

How the RFDS is Organized

The RFDS has seven main parts. These are RFDS of Australia, Central Operations, Queensland Section, South Eastern Section, Tasmania, Victoria, and Western Operations. Each part has its own leaders and manages its own money and operations.

The Flying Doctor works from many bases, health services, and other offices across Australia.

RFDS bases are run by:

• Central Operations: Bases at Adelaide Airport, Alice Springs Airport, and Port Augusta Airport. Health services are in Andamooka, Marla, and Marree.
• South Eastern Section: Broken Hill, New South Wales; Dubbo, New South Wales; Launceston, Tasmania; Essendon Airport; and Sydney Airport and Bankstown Airport in Sydney.
• Victoria Operations: Bases across the state, including Essendon Airport. They also have over 100 road ambulances from more than 20 rural bases. The Victorian office is in Richmond, a suburb of Melbourne.
• Queensland Section: Brisbane Airport, Bundaberg Airport, Cairns Airport, Roma Airport, Charleville, Longreach, Mount Isa, Rockhampton, and Townsville Airport.
• Western Operations: Broome, Kalgoorlie, Meekatharra, Perth's Jandakot Airport, and Port Hedland. The Rio Tinto LifeFlight Pilatus PC-24 jets are in Broome and Jandakot.

Royal Flying Doctor Service hangar in Broken Hill, New South Wales.

Some older bases have closed, like those in Carnarvon, Geraldton, Derby, and Wyndham. The first base in Cloncurry moved to Mount Isa in 1965. The early base in Charters Towers moved to Cairns in 1972. The newest base opened in Broome in 2016.

RFDS Aircraft

The first plane used by the "Aerial Medical Service" in 1928 was a de Havilland DH.50. It was rented from the new Qantas airline. In 1934, it was replaced by a DH.83 Fox Moth.

In the 1930s and 1940s, the fleet had different de Havilland planes. These included DH.50s, DH.83 Fox Moths, DH.84 Dragons, DH.104 Doves, and the de Havilland Australia DHA-3 Drover.

From the 1950s to 1970s, the fleet included planes like the Beechcraft Baron, Beechcraft Travel Air, Beechcraft Queen Air, Beechcraft Duke, Cessna 180, Cessna 182, Cessna 421, Piper Cherokee, and Piper PA-31 Navajo.

Until the 1960s, contractors provided the aircraft. After that, the RFDS owned its planes and hired its own pilots and engineers.

In the 1970s and 1980s, the RFDS base at Broken Hill used the Australian-made GAF Nomad.

From the 1980s to the 2000s, the fleet included the Cessna 404 and Cessna 441.

For a while in the mid-2000s, the main medical evacuation planes were the Pilatus PC-12 or the Beechcraft King Air 200 series. These planes are set up differently in various RFDS sections. They usually have two seats facing backward and two stretchers. In some planes, one stretcher can be removed to add two more seats.

The PC-12, PC-24, and King Air planes are pressurised. This means their cabins can keep the air pressure like it is at sea level. This is important for patients who are very sensitive to pressure changes. Also, pressurised planes can fly high enough to avoid bad weather. This makes flights safer and more comfortable for patients and staff. It also helps prevent problems like motion sickness or making injuries worse.

In October 2009, the RFDS added two Cessna 208B Grand Caravans and a Hawker 800XP to its fleet.

A Pilatus PC-12-45 plane.

A Pilatus PC-24 jet.

The South Eastern Section uses 18 King Airs. The Queensland Section uses 20 King Airs and 3 PC-12s. Western Operations has 16 PC-12s and 3 PC-24s. Central Operations uses 19 PC-12s and 2 PC-24s.

An Airbus EC145 helicopter.

By 2021, the RFDS had received its 4 Pilatus PC-24 jets. These replaced their Hawker 800XP jet. They are based at Jandakot Airport and Broome in WA, and Adelaide SA. The PC-24 can hold 3 stretcher beds and two seated patients. It can fly at 45,000 feet and cuts flight time in half compared to propeller planes. The PC-24 can also land on both paved and unpaved runways.

In 2022, Western Operations started using its own helicopters. Two Airbus EC145 helicopters came from Germany. They were set up at Jandakot Airport to be hospital retrieval platforms. These helicopters are flown by one pilot using special night vision equipment. They can pick up patients up to 200 km from Perth. They can land in sports fields or helipads. Patients are then flown directly to helipads on the roofs of major Perth hospitals.

Medical Equipment on Board

The RFDS uses many modern medical tools for its air medical services. These include transport ventilators, critical care monitors, infusion devices, point-of-care testing tools, portable diagnostic ultrasound machines, and various splints.

RFDS in Numbers

A memorial at Jandakot Airport for RFDS pilot, Robin Miller Dicks, known as the "Sugarbird Lady."

According to the RFDS of Australia's 2015/16 report, the service owns 67 aircraft. It operates from 23 bases and has 1,225 employees. Every day, on average, the service:

• flies 73,554 kilometers.
• makes 211 landings.
• helps 800 patients (at clinics, during transport, and via telehealth).
• transports 177 patients (including emergency flights, hospital transfers, and road transports).
• conducts 254 telehealth sessions.

School of the Air

The School of the Air connects students in the outback with teachers in central locations. Until recently, it used the same radio equipment as the RFDS. Now, internet services have taken over.

Famous People Connected to RFDS

Some notable people linked to the RFDS include:

• Arthur Affleck, the first pilot/doctor.
• John Flynn, the founder.
• Robin Miller, a nurse and pilot, known as "The Sugarbird Lady."

Honored History

The First and Second Australian Inland Mission Hospitals in Birdsville are listed on the Queensland Heritage Register.

In 2009, during the Q150 celebrations, the Royal Flying Doctor Service was named one of the Q150 Icons of Queensland. This was for its role as an important "innovation and invention."

In 2011, the Royal Flying Doctor Service of Australia (Queensland Section) was added to the Queensland Business Leaders Hall of Fame. This was to honor its help in rural health and building communities in Australia.

See Also

In Spanish: Royal Flying Doctor Service para niños

• Emergency Medical Retrieval Service (a similar service in Scotland)
• Emergency medical services in Australia
• Air medical services