Emergency and Transport Services - Western Operations
In RFDS Western Operations, emergency evacuation of patients uses our fixed wing aircraft or occasionally rotary wing, charter or road ambulances. As part of our system, we also operate a State-wide Clinical Coordination system to ensure that our emergency assets are allocated to patients according to clinical need and decisions regarding priority, crew mix, equipment required and destination are made by experienced transport doctors.
Approximately 50% of patients transferred across Western Australia by our fixed wing aircraft have a medical retrieval team on board, comprising an RFDS Retrieval Doctor and an RFDS Flight Nurse with critical care and midwifery skills.
Closer to Perth, our Retrieval Doctors coordinate and staff the Perth Rescue Helicopter for inter-hospital transfers, in conjunction with a critical care paramedic.
In remote settings, we may need to use a variety of chartered aircraft, helicopters, road vehicles and even seaplanes, to evacuate patients from isolated settings. Out of Perth, we conduct a small number of road retrievals and also use charter corporate jets for longer distance transfers from the Indian Ocean Territories.