Life in the outback is not for the faint-hearted. It demands resilience, resourcefulness, and the ability to handle whatever comes next - qualities that those who live and work here know all too well. It’s a place where distance shapes daily life and where healthcare and medical support in the event of an emergency is rarely just around the corner.
With vast distances and unforgiving terrain, access to healthcare is a challenge few outside the bush can truly grasp. For nearly a century, the Royal Flying Doctor Service (RFDS) has brought critical care throughout the bush, bolstered by a team of Flight Nurses - highly skilled, unshakable under pressure, and dedicated to delivering care where it’s needed most.
One of the most remarkable women in RFDS history was Sister Myra Blanch, the first RFDS Flight Nurse. Based in Broken Hill, Sister Blanch took to the skies in the 1940s, travelling to remote homesteads, cattle stations, and Aboriginal communities where medical care was scarce. She worked in conditions that would challenge even the most seasoned nurses today.
At a time when aviation itself was still developing, Sister Blanch’s role as a Flight Nurse was groundbreaking. She worked alongside doctors in cramped shelters with the bare essentials, providing emergency care, midwifery services, and public health education to Australians living in isolated communities. Her work was not just about treating illness, but about empowering people to manage their health and wellbeing in some of the harshest environments in the country.
Sister Blanch was more than just a Nurse, she was a lifeline, and her efforts laid the foundation for the aeromedical services RFDS provides today, proving that distance and isolation should never determine someone’s access to care.
Continuing the mission: Flight Nursing Today
Eighty years later, the role of a Flight Nurse remains as vital as ever. Today’s RFDS nurses operate in a highly specialised environment, providing care in the air and on the ground. Robin Franklin, a Flight Nurse based in Broken Hill, has been with the RFDS since 2012.For Robin, Flight Nursing was a clear goal from the outset of her career, as she worked toward gaining the experience as an Emergency Nurse and Midwife that was essential to the role. “Growing up on a farm and mum having been a Flight Nurse herself in the 1950s, we all loved hearing the amazing stories of what it was like to be a Flight Nurse in remote Australia.” Robin says, “Mum’s experiences inspired me even more to gain the specialised training and experiences to gain my current career as an RFDS Flight Nurse.”
Like Sister Blanch and her own mother, Robin and her team provide life-saving care in some of the most remote locations in Australia, with more than two thirds of RFDS aeromedical work being attended by Flight Nurses today. “The Flight Nurse and Pilot work closely as a team to provide safe and quality care to our patients in any remote setting – both in the air and on the ground,” says Robin, who says that there’s also a Retrieval Doctor on call 24 hours a day who is ready to assist when a tasking requires further expertise.
“We rely on our training, our experiences, and the people around us,” Robin says. “One day, we’re flying a patient who needs urgent specialist care to a hospital in Adelaide. The next, or even on the same day, we’re landing on a dirt airstrip on a local property to reach someone after an accident in some of the most remote areas of Australia.”
“If you have an accident on a rural property, you could easily be many hours away from medical help. Those hours, without medical help, can be the difference between life and death.”
While the essence of the role hasn’t changed, technology and aircraft have come a long way since Sister Blanch’s, and Robin’s mother’s time. “A particular story Mum recalled were the clinics she attended under the shade of an old brush shelter. A mat was placed on the ground to enable the examination of patients, along with the antenatal checks required at the time,” shares Robin.
“It really makes me appreciate what we have to work with today. Medically fitted aircraft, satellite communication, access to specialised equipment and to life-saving blood products as needed.”
Technological advances have brought communities together digitally, but the huge distances separating our remote communities from regional centres means that the need for the RFDS is as strong as ever. “If you have an accident on a rural property, you could easily be many hours away from medical help. Those hours, without medical help, can be the difference between life and death,” Robin says.
The strength of rural communities
For Robin, one of the most rewarding parts of the job is the connection with the communities who rely on the RFDS. She speaks with deep respect about the resilience of the people she serves, noting that they are often ready to lend a hand when needed.
“They are not just patients; they are partners in what we do. Everyone works together in an emergency, and we all look out for each other. Many stations maintain private airstrips on their properties for RFDS landings, assist with ‘roo runs’ to clear landing zones to make sure we can land safely and help us get to patients beyond the airstrips,” says Robin. "Among them are many women who juggle multiple roles on the land. They help manage the smooth running of their business, homeschool children as needed and step up as medical chest custodians to support their local community in times of need."
We are all part of this, working together to make sure no one is left without help when they need it.
Robin Franklin, RFDS Flight NurseFrom Sister Blanch’s pioneering flights to today’s aeromedical teams, Flight Nurses have played a critical role in ensuring access to healthcare across Australia. In remote corners of Australia, where a medical emergency can mean life or death, the role of the Flight Nurse remains a vital link between isolation and care.
And for those who take to the skies to provide care, there is no greater privilege than being there, when and where it matters most.
