July marks 25 years since the Royal Flying Doctor Service commenced operations from Dubbo through the support of the Australian government and generous supporters.
The service began with one plane, three pilots, three nurses and one administration staff member in rented premises at Dubbo Regional Airport in 1999. At first, the RFDS primarily performed inter-hospital transfers and as needs grew, moved to conducting emergency retrievals and non-emergency patient transport.
In the years since, it has expanded to offer primary health clinics to the surrounding regions, oral health care and mental health and alcohol and other drugs services, and now employs more than 130 people across this wide array of services. This includes six number of clinics, our Dubbo Wellbeing Place, and programs such as our GROW days and school programs.
“Two flight nurses have been with the Dubbo Base since the very beginning, and I am always awestruck by the stories they share and the passion they still feel for the work they do these many decades later,” Greg said.
The infrastructure has also grown, cementing the Flying Doctor’s permanent home in Dubbo. An RFDS hangar was completed in February 2001, followed by the construction of a medical building in 2011 and a major scope of works in 2019 that included the construction of a Visitor Experience, Multipurpose Space and Aeromedical Shelters.
Royal Flying Doctor Service (South Eastern section) CEO Greg Sam said so much had been achieved in 25 years, making Dubbo an integral part of RFDS health delivery.
“The need for services out of Dubbo was recognised in the early 1990s, and there was great effort from a lot of people to make that happen. It started small but quickly grew to what we see today, an essential hub providing primary and emergency healthcare by air and road to communities who would otherwise have to travel large distances to receive vital healthcare,” Greg said.
“It is important to recognise the efforts of supporters and donors, Dubbo Regional Council and the State and Federal Government. In particular, we acknowledge the dedication and drive of the Dubbo Support Group in lobbying for an RFDS base to be established in Dubbo and then helping to drive the fundraising to make it a reality.”
While taking some brief time to look back at what has been achieved, Greg said the primary focus is on the future, and increasing the ways the Flying Doctor helps regional, rural and remote communities.
“For almost 100 years the Royal Flying Doctor Service has been providing care to people of outback Australia and now for a quarter of a century, the Dubbo Base has been providing that same high level of care,” Greg said.
“Our commitment to people in regional, rural and remote areas continues to grow, and we continue to look for new ways to assist our communities, including our recent expansion into saving GP clinics in small towns that would otherwise have been forced to close.”
