The care provided by the Royal Flying Doctor Service (Queensland Section) (RFDS) extends far and wide, but it may just be further than you think.
Found some 450 kilometres east of Cairns, Willis Island is home to one of the world’s most remote weather stations. Rotating every six months, four new Bureau of Meteorology employees are deployed to the island to capture weather data and maintain the weather station.
Being in a remote location comes with many challenges, including the need to manage and maintain health. To ensure staff are equipped to respond to a medical emergency appropriately, the island has an RFDS Medical Chest.
The Cairns RFDS team provide crucial support to The Bureau and their staff working on Willis Island, providing comprehensive and critical training sessions to ensure all employees deployed to the island can respond in the case of a medical emergency.
These sessions are completed by staff members at the RFDS Cairns Base before their departure to Willis Island. The latest group of employees received training from RFDS Medical Education Lead Dr Katrina Starmer and RFDS Virtual and Pre-hospital Care Senior Advisor Rosie McEachern.
“As the only residents on the island, the staff must manage their health and any medical emergency that occurs using the RFDS medical chest and telehealth service we provide,” Katrina said.
“Due to the distance from medical help, even an asthma attack or severe allergy on the island may be life-threatening.
“To reduce the risk, the RFDS virtual health education team provide an orientation to the medical chest and its contents, as well as a run-through of various medical conditions that the crew may encounter.”
While those staff members working on the island often have previous experience working in remote environments, they must understand how to utilise an RFDS medical chest.
“The staff have provided feedback to the RFDS team, sharing that they enjoy running through the scenarios and practising with the equipment from an actual RFDS medical chest,” Rosie said.
“The team were taught how to administer pain relief, including the use of a methoxyflurane inhaler, commonly known as the green whistle, and morphine using an intramuscular needle.
“Hands-on and case-based low-fidelity simulation training has been proven to be an effective teaching method.
“It enables people to feel comfortable performing a skill for the first time in a real-life emergency as they feel as though they have done it before.”
The RFDS has more than 1,200 medical chests across Queensland. Find out more here.
Photo credit: Nick Cox
