THE Royal Flying Doctor Service (RFDS) will now have the capacity to give patients life-saving blood transfusions in the air.
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Of the seven RFDS planes in NSW, the two based in Dubbo and four in Sydney will carry blood and blood products, while the aircraft based at Broken Hill will not.
Member for Dubbo Troy Grant was at the RFDS base at the Dubbo airport on Monday to officially launch the project, and welcomed the progress that had been made in the critical care services.
"This really is life and death stuff and when you get in those situations, replacing blood is paramount," he said.
"This service is about delivering high-level, out-of-hospital emergency intensive care treatment to patients by bringing tertiary hospital services right to their doorstep.
"Emergency intensive care treatment is critical for people in remote areas, who may have severe bleeding from incidents such as a car crash, a farming accident or complications during child birth.
"The people who need the RFDS are some of the most vulnerable due to the remoteness of where they are and often the critical nature of the incidents they are involved in.
"This is a very welcome addition to the arsenal of the RFDS."
The Deputy Premier also moved to congratulate the NSW Ambulance, the RFDS South Eastern Section, Pathology West - Dubbo and Western NSW Local Health District, which were involved in getting the project across the line.
"The greatest success stories are the ones that are built from strong partnerships," he said.
"There needs to be a big congratulations to the collaborative approach everyone has had, and I'm sure the strong relationship will endure."
For RFDS senior flight nurse Karen Barlow, being able to administer blood and blood products to patients immediately will greatly assist her in caring for her patients.
"From where they are located, these patients might not get care for several hours so this fills that void," she said.
"This isn't definitive treatment, it is a holding process till you get patients to a tertiary centre."
The project covers areas such as but not limited to Bourke, Cobar, Lightning Ridge, Walgett, Brewarrina, Collarenebri and can extend as far as the New England area and the NSW north coast.
