A lease agreement between Western Plains Regional Council and the Royal Flying Doctor Service has been finalised, linking the two in partnership for the next 20 years.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The agreement was approved by council administrator Michael Kneipp at the recent ordinary meeting of council.
The lease will start when construction begins.
For the first year, it will be $55,100- calculated based on $4 per square metre of land- and it will increase by the Consumer Price Index every year thereafter.
Construction on the $18 million facility is expected to start in October.
Council administrator Michael Kneipp said it was great news, and would provide an economic boost for Dubbo.
Stage one of the facility includes a full flight simulator for Kingair 200 aircraft, aeromedical training areas to simulate working in an aircraft and at remote hospitals by medical staff, a visitors centre, observation deck and cafe.
The simulator will be installed and operated by Elbit Systems of Australia, a subsidiary of Elbit Systems, an Israeli company that develops innovative technology products and services.
When the facility was announced, RFDS south eastern section CEO Greg Sam said the ability to train flight and medical staff simultaneously would allow an even higher level of aeromedical care for patients.
"We have been expanding our facilities and clinic services in Dubbo as part of our 2015-19 strategic plan, aimed at reducing the well-documented gap in health and wellness between living in remote, rural and regional areas and those in the cities," Mr Sam said.
"Currently many of our staff train overseas. Having world-class, state-of-the-art facilities within our Dubbo base will promote medical excellence in healthcare delivery and support community engagement. It will also allow us to train our pilots and medical staff in this highly specialised branch of medicine quicker and more economically."
As part of the development, council will subdivide a lot near the facility.
The centre is expected to open in 2017.