Repatriation
Repatriation of patients from tertiary hospitals to country hospitals has been a long standing problem in WA.
The RFDS has tried to provide a service on an unfunded 'opportunistic' basis, when aircraft have been returning to their regions. However with increasing emergency workload, these opportunities have progressively declined.
In May 2009 we commenced a six month trial of a dedicated, fee-paying, repatriation service using one of our fully equipped aeromedical aircraft, rather than trading it in. Using a day pilot and day nurse and operating independently of our emergency service, we endeavoured to provide guaranteed transport to rural areas on the day it was required, with no cancellations due to emergency commitments.
Unfortunately the volume of paid work was insufficient to justify the dedicated service, so repatriation has been rolled back into our normal operations and is done on an 'opportunistic' basis again. Further details of how it operated are outlined in the attached 
Repatriation Brochure (463.50kB).