The RFDS in QLD
What we do in QLD
The RFDS employs over 400 people in Queensland with positions ranging from pilots, doctors, nurses, engineers, allied health professionals, and a variety of administration and support services roles including finance, marketing and human resources. With its Queensland head office located at the Brisbane Airport, the RFDS operates 20 aircraft from nine operational bases located in Brisbane, Cairns, Townsville, Rockhampton, Bundaberg, Charleville, Mount Isa, Longreach and Roma.
The RFDS's emergency retrieval service operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week, delivering the finest care to more than 290,000 Australians each year, that's one person every two minutes. This iconic service has expanded to provide regular transfers of patients for life-saving surgery such as organ transplants and heart surgery, delivering critical support to those who need it most.
The RFDS also delivers a broad range of essential health care services to rural and remote communities, including general practice, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health, child and family health, social and emotional wellbeing, women's health and health promotion.
Baby Daisy's Flying Doctor journey
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More detailsLatest news stories
Expanding our service delivery with Nurse Practitioners
04 Feb 2020Recently the Royal Flying Doctor Service (Queensland Section) identified an opportunity to increase the number of nurse practitioner roles in our aeromedical retrieval services.
Read full story
Rural junior doctor training program update
04 Feb 2020As 2019 came to an end, so did our first year of interns who participated in our rural junior doctor training program.
Read full storyBrisbane RFDS Base
The RFDS Brisbane Base commenced operations out of Queensland Ambulance's Terminal at Brisbane Airport, on 3 July 1995, with the current base location commencing operations next door in 1998.
The Base is exclusively an emergency aeromedical base, providing retrieval and inter-hospital transfers. The terminal facilitates receipt of patients transported to Brisbane by the RFDS, as well as receipt of patients transported by other aeromedical providers such as Queensland and NSW Ambulance Services. Clinical coordination is provided by Queensland Health employed doctors and aircraft tasking by RSQ.
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Bundaberg RFDS Base
RFDS Bundaberg Base commenced operations on
4 March 2002 under a unique contractual agreement with Queensland Ambulance
Service. The Base operates as an emergency retrieval base, incorporating
aeromedical retrieval and inter-hospital transfer services.
Clinical coordination is provided by Queensland Health employed doctors and aircraft tasking by RSQ.
Cairns RFDS Base
RFDS Cairns Base commenced operations in
1972 following relocation from Charters Towers. It is the largest and one of
the longest serving bases in the RFDS network.
Services provided from this Base include remote medical consultations, aeromedical retrievals and primary health care clinics incorporating general practice, child and family health, Indigenous health, mental health, women's health and health promotion.
Graphic:
Charleville RFDS Base
RFDS Charleville Base commenced operations in 1943. Services provided from this base include medical chests, remote medical consultations, aeromedical retrievals and primary health care clinics incorporating general practice, child and family health, health promotion and field days.
The Charleville Base services approximately 622,000 square kilometres of southwest Queensland - an area almost the size of the United Kingdom - extending from the New South Wales border to the Northern Territory and South Australia borders in the west, and the Carnarvon Ranges in the east.
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Longreach RFDS Base
The RFDS commenced operation in Longreach in July 2004. The Longreach Base is "non-traditional" with its service delivery focusing on Social and Emotional Wellbeing, delivered through a drive-in-drive-out model. The service provides counselling, training and support using psychological interventions for the community. The base also works with other agencies within the five shires it covers, to promote an integrated response to meet the needs of the Central Western Region.
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RFDS Mount Isa Base commenced operations in 1964 following relocation from
Cloncurry.
The services provided include remote medical consultations, aeromedical
retrievals and primary health care clinics incorporating general practice,
child and family health, Indigenous health, mental health and health promotion.
The RFDS Mount Isa Base services people living, working and
travelling from the Gulf of Carpentaria in the north, the Northern
Territory border in the west, Hughenden in the east and Bedourie in the south.
Rockhampton Base
RFDS Rockhampton Base commenced operations
in 1995 and operates as an emergency retrieval base incorporating aeromedical
retrieval and inter-hospital transfer services.
Graphic:
Roma Base
The RFDS Roma Hangar and Patient Transfer
Facility commenced operation at Roma Airport in August, 2014.
The Patient Transfer Facility provides patients being transferred to and from Roma, with a more comfortable, family-friendly indoor waiting area for their carers, as well as disabled toilets and more privacy.
Graphic:
Townsville Base
RFDS Townsville Base commenced operations
in 1996. The services offered from this base includes aeromedical retrievals
and primary health care services such as general practice.