Take off!
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While many people associate the RFDS with Outback Australia, there are people living in rural Tasmania (and on the surrounding islands) who are just as isolated and in just as much need of access to medical care as those living in the Outback.
In order to meet this need, the RFDS Base at Launceston began operations in February 1997 with a Piper Mojave VH-HFD. Our initial flight carried a critically ill baby from Wynyard, Tasmania to Essendon for surgery at a Melbourne children’s hospital.
Our mission
- to provide pilots, aircraft and engineering support to assist in the vital emergency work of the Tasmanian Ambulance Service
- to work closely with medical teams at the Royal Hobart and Launceston General hospitals
- to underpin the vital work of the Neo-natal Emergency Transfer Service and general retrieval services offered by the Tasmanian Ambulance Service, Queen Alexandria Unit and Launceston General Hospital
- to transfer patients from Launceston to mainland Australia as well as around Tasmania (including Hobart, St Helens, Georgetown, Devonport, Wynyard, Strahan, Queenstown, King Island and Flinders Island)
- to provide a lifeline to people living in the remote Bass StraitIslands and for those living in isolated areas of the Tasmanian mainland
Fast facts
- we operate one King Air B200 aircraft
- our team consists of six pilots, two engineers and a base manager
2006-2007 Mission accomplished!
- 845 patients assisted
- 693 patients attended by the RWGPS
- 845 inter-hospital transfers carried out
- 693 clinics conducted by the RWGPS
- 394,874 kms flown
- 2,258 landings executed