As the Dubbo RFDS Base celebrates its 25th year of operation in July, one person there from the very beginning will also reach the special milestone.
Karen Barlow was handed a job advertisement for a Flight Nurse position with the RFDS while working in the Emergency Department in early 1999 and decided to apply. She was successful in her application and commenced duty in late June 1999.
“We started out with one aircraft, three flight nurses, three pilots and a receptionist in three rented offices behind the Air Link building, across the tarmac from where we are today. It took eleven days before our first tasking came through, but once they started, they never stopped,” Karen said.
As the demand for services quickly increased, the RFDS Hangar was completed and a second aircraft was introduced into service which saw staff numbers increase and more development and infrastructure at the base.
“It was great watching the new hangar come up out the ground from across the tarmac and it was so exciting moving into it. It had so much space and we could keep the aircraft under cover, as well as transfer patients out of the weather,” Karen said.
“We ultimately outgrew that space and have continued to expand now offering primary health and dental services out of the Dubbo Base, not to mention the Visitors Experience, Education Unit and Flight Simulator.”
Karen has loved her Flight Nursing career, as there have been some incredibly memorable moments, as well as some sad ones throughout the years.
“You are caring for people when they are having one of the worst days of their lives, they may have been in a car accident, had a heart attack, or have a very unwell child and we are taking them away from their hometown and support group to a strange place they don't know,” she said.
“Some of our patients have never been in an aircraft or flown before so they are sick and really nervous as well, but once we get in the air and they can see out the window their smiles light up the cabin, especially the children,” she said.
“A memorable moment was delivering a baby at Walgett Airport. We had just taxied down to the take off point when Mum’s water broke. We just got back to the terminal and had stopped the aircraft when the baby came. Mum, Dad and baby spent the flight back to Dubbo getting to know one another, which was very special.”
Working for the RFDS has also created the opportunity to meet a lot of great people from all walks of life including the Royal Family.
“I had the pleasure of meeting Prince Charles and Camilla in Longreach at an aircraft naming ceremony some years ago and then Prince Harry and Megan paid the Dubbo RFDS Base a visit in 2018. On both occasions they were extremely interested in the work that we do, the training required to do the job and the aircraft we fly in.”
READ MORE: Royal couple lights up RFDS Dubbo base
The RFDS has so much support from both the country and city communities, everyone that becomes involved with the RFDS becomes invested in it.
Karen BarlowThe RFDS was welcomed by Dubbo and the surrounding communities, Karen said, and in her 25 years with the organisation has felt the support, trust and respect the RFDS garners as soon as people realise who she works for.
“The RFDS has so much support from both the country and city communities, everyone that becomes involved with the RFDS becomes invested in it and that's why we’ve been so successful and continued to grow over the years. It’s an iconic organisation that people trust," Karen said.
“People ask me how I could stay in the one job for 25 years but my role has continually changed, as the base has grown and I have had the honor of working with some amazing people in our aeromedical team and beyond. It is a privilege to be a part of someone’s care and their journey. Everyone has a story to tell, no matter where they come from and in our role we become part of their story. I have been down the street in my uniform and have had strangers come up to me and say “I love what you do, thank you so much.”
“You don't get that in too many occupations” she concluded.
