The RFDS in QLD

News

Family ties in the skies
Picture this: You’re in the air at 35,000 feet, the steady hum of the engines a backdrop to your thoughts. You’re not on an ordinary flight; you’re a patient, being transported for urgent care.
More detailsRFDS Flight Nurse delivers own baby
When Royal Flying Doctor Service (Queensland Section) (RFDS) Flight Nurse Hayden Wilson completed his midwifery studies in July 2019, little did he know he’d be putting those skills to use two years later to deliver his own child!

RFDS calls for help to assist cardiac patients
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.

The accidental psychologist
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.

Real RFDS soars to new heights
The latest annual patient and aviation statistics reveal a total of 12,319 patients were flown to emergency or specialist care by the Royal Flying Doctor Service (Queensland Section) in the 2020/21 financial year.

Flight nurse on the Ball
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.

A flight like no other
“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.”

A nurse's life in the sky
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.

The little-known history of the $20 note
There's a good change you've got a $20 in your wallet right now, but not many know the real story behind the man on the red note. His name is John Flynn and it all started back in 1917.