Approximately 25 patients a week have been transferred between hospitals since the Royal Flying Doctor Services (RFDS) started their non-emergency patient transport services in June.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The NSW Healthshare contracted service means RFDS provides bed-to-bed transport for low acuity patients, primarily in Western NSW, who need assistance moving to and from hospitals.
The Patient Transport Service is based in Dubbo and allows RFDS pilots and nurses to reach people throughout Western NSW. This means NSW air and road ambulances are more available to assist people in life-threatening situations.
RFDS general manager of base operations and service delivery Claudio Grasso said the service means air and road ambulances are more available to assist people in life-threatening situations in regional communities.
“It’s very rewarding to know that we’re providing a valuable and necessary services for the community,” Mr Grasso said.
“We (RFDS) feel proud to be a part of the NSW Health service delivery, meeting on our objectives to deliver improved health services to rural and outback communities.”
“We provide one aircraft between the hours of 0600 and 2200. We’re soon to increase our capacity to two aircraft’s a day in October,” Mr Grasso said.
“In the last two to three weeks we’re averaging around 25 patients a week, which is considerable since it spans over a period of seven days. Prior to that we were transporting one or two patients a day.
- ALSO MAKING NEWS: Position vacant: Nationals make move for pre-selection
“The demand has increased exponentially. As we start to increase our capacity around providing additional pilots, flight nurses and aircraft, patient transport will increase with it,” he said
The service is funded by NSW Healthshare as part of state health department. Funding is determined by on-occasion demand of services requested of the RFDS.
Since mid June, transported patients have included people with cardiac issues who needed to be monitored between hospitals, and twin newborn babies who had been in neo-natal intensive care and were taken home to Orange.
“NSW Health triage and manage demand and then allocate those services to us through the operations centre in Dubbo,” Mr Grasso said.
“We would seek to move up to transporting 60 to 80 patients a week once we have additional capacity.”
The increased services would be supported by the operations centre and aeromedical terminal being built at Dubbo airport. There are plans to implement an aeromedical training facility and a flight simulation device.