The RFDS in QLD

Staff and patient stories

Graphic: RFDS delivers first baby born in Richmond in 15 years

RFDS helps deliver first baby born in Richmond in 15 years

26 May 2022

Jess Harvey was 35 weeks pregnant when she awoke in the middle of the night with contractions at home, two hours from her nearest town. The RFDS was soon called to assist, and not long after baby Darby arrived.

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Graphic: 94 years young

94 years young

18 May 2022

As the Flying Doctor marks 94 years in the air this week, veteran Queensland grazier Trevor Saal is also preparing to celebrate his 94th lap around the sun.

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Graphic: Chae in cockpit

Local boy’s dream of touring RFDS comes true

03 May 2022

With the dream of living in the outback when he grows up, Chae first learned of the Flying Doctor when the service saved his uncle’s life, after the man was bitten by a deadly snake on a fishing trip.

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Graphic: State Virtual Health Care Lead Shaun Francis

Becoming a Flying Doctor

31 Jan 2022

For Dr Shaun Francis there was no defining moment that inspired his career. Instead, it was a culmination of things — his rural upbringing, interest in human biology, and desire to work as part of a high performing team, in a high-pressure environment — that led him to where he is today.

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Graphic: RFDS Dental Service

Bringing a smile to rural and remote Queensland

20 Jan 2022

Senior Dental Assistant Kaylah Sinclair says she understands that for many, going to the dentist is a dreaded experience. That’s why she takes great pride in ensuring RFDS patients feel comfortable throughout their treatment and leave with a smile.

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Graphic: Flight Nurse Hayden Wilson

Flight Nurse Hayden Wilson

21 Sep 2021

Growing up on Norfolk Island, Flight Nurse Hayden Wilson saw his fair share of aeromedical retrievals, and with a nurse in the family it’s no surprise that he’s landed the job he has today.

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Graphic: doctor rfds plane

All in a day’s work: Keeping Michael alive

09 Sep 2021

When Dr Charles Ellis wakes up in the morning, he’s never quite sure what the day will hold. One day he got a call that was life or death.

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Graphic: selfie of tim in townsville

Well that wasn’t on the bucket list

09 Sep 2021

Tim Elleston and his wife were on the road trip of a lifetime through outback Queensland when their trip didn’t quite go to plan.

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Graphic: Pilot Mark Stuart-Russell

Born to Fly: The journey to become a pilot

02 Sep 2021

At just four days old, Mark Stuart-Russell took his first flight. He was taken home from hospital in his father’s Cessna 170.

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Graphic: Flight Nurse reunited with baby born in the sky

Flight Nurse reunited with baby born onboard aircraft

31 Aug 2021

It was a reunion four years in the making. After giving birth to a little boy in the back of an RFDS aircraft in 2017, Lucy Westcott and her family were reunited with their Flight Nurse Timna Wright.

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Graphic: RFDS team at Nockatunga Station

Prioritising health in rural Queensland

31 Aug 2021

For 18 years, Royal Flying Doctor Service (Queensland Section) (RFDS) Nurse Manager Jo Mahony has been a driving force in supporting rural communities through every high and low.

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Graphic: Gregory QCWA raise funds for the RFDS (Queensland Section)

Gregory QCWA help keep the Flying Doctor flying

24 Aug 2021

For everyone in the region around Gregory, the RFDS is their general practitioner, their emergency response and their mental health support. So, when we needed an upgraded clinic, the local women stepped in to help.

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Graphic: Flight Nurse celebrates 10 years with the Service

Flight Nurse celebrates 10 years with the Service

20 Aug 2021

From providing care at 20,000 ft to delivering babies in remote hospitals, Flight Nurse Haidee Kerr shares why working for the Royal Flying Doctor Service is her dream job.

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Graphic: RFDS (Queensland Section) Health Promotions Officer Judith Taylor

More than emergency healthcare — RFDS Field Days

16 Aug 2021

Royal Flying Doctor Service (RFDS) Field Days are just one of the many ways people in rural and remote areas can access the Flying Doctor’s life-saving treatment.

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Graphic: RFDS needs your help to assist cardiac patients

RFDS calls for help to assist cardiac patients

15 Aug 2021

Cardiac emergencies account for almost 25 per cent of all patients transported by the Flying Doctor. And keeping so many critically-ill patients safe in the air requires constant access to a vast and costly range of cardiac monitoring medical equipment and supplies.

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Graphic: doctor outback mental health tim driscoll

The accidental psychologist

13 Aug 2021

For some, working in healthcare is a lifelong dream. For Dr Tim Driscoll it was a happy accident, stumbling upon the profession while working abroad. Now Tim helps hundreds of Queenslanders improve their mental health each year.

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Graphic: RFDS (Queensland Section) Flight Nurse Michelle Ball

Flight nurse on the Ball

11 Aug 2021

Aeromedical retrievals aren’t for the faint hearted. Just ask RFDS Flight Nurse Michelle Ball. Michelle reflects on her role with the Service, including the time she was tasked with attending a helicopter crash, via helicopter.

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Graphic: Busby Marou

A flight like no other

09 Aug 2021

“I really didn’t want to put them out, so I told them it's all good, I'm a platinum flyer so I can sort the flight out myself. They pretty quickly told me I would be flying with the Flying Doctor.”

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Graphic: flight nurse justine powell queensland

A nurse's life in the sky

08 Aug 2021

From finding a career to finding love, in her 20 years with the Royal Flying Doctor Service (Queensland Section) Nurse Manager Justine Powell has quite a few interesting tales to tell.

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Graphic: sam bruce works on place apprentice engineer

From patient to RFDS apprentice engineer

06 Aug 2021

As a baby Sam Bruce was rushed to Brisbane, now he's on the other side of the spectrum, working as an apprentice for the RFDS (Queensland Section).

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Graphic: Flight Nurse Jacinta Jones helps outback patients

Drama in the outback

28 Jul 2021

From lost and injured station hands, to heart attacks and mid-air births, there is no such thing as a typical workday for RFDS (Queensland Section) Flight Nurse Jacinta Jones.

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Graphic: Helicopter crash survivor pays tribute to Flying Doctor

Helicopter crash survivor pays tribute to the Flying Doctor

01 Jul 2021

Grazier Michael Tomlinson was mustering cattle from a helicopter near Augathella when he experienced engine trouble and plummeted to the ground.

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Graphic: From selling spare parts to flying planes

From selling spare parts to flying planes

15 Jun 2021

When Dave Collins finished school he didn’t have ‘the grades or ability’ to pursue his dream of becoming a pilot. Then a half-an-hour trip with a mate changed his life for good.

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Graphic: RFDS Flight Nurse attends dramatic rescue on Christmas Eve

A Christmas to remember

13 Jan 2020

For Flight Nurse Sabrina Montaldo, Christmas will always bring with it memories of a dramatic rescue in the outback. Only five months after commencing with the Service, Sabrina attended a tragic boating accident at Lake Julius for her first aeromedical retrieval.

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Graphic: RFDS (Queensland Section) Pilot Shane Wise

A Wise choice of careers

23 Oct 2018

"I was at a point in my life where I just knew IT consulting was not what I wanted to do anymore, so I thought … how about I do something I have always wanted and become a pilot?"

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