The RFDS has secured an historic new agreement with the SA Government to significantly boost aircraft services and staff enabling faster patient transfers.
The SA Government has taken flight into a new era of fixed wing aeromedical transport services, ushering in a 10-year contract with the RFDS, worth more than $500 million.
The investment will bolster operational capacity out of Adelaide Airport, increasing RFDS operations to four aircraft during the day and three overnight.
The RFDS frontline team will increase by 23.4 FTE staff, including nurses, pilots, engineers, clinical support and operations communications staff. Importantly, two dedicated nurses will be stationed 24/7 at the RFDS Adelaide Base, ensuring continuous patient care while keeping RFDS Flight Nurses ready to respond.
The investment means patients will be retrieved faster, with new KPIs more than halving the target response time (now 20 minutes) for takeoff for Priority 1 and 2 regional fixed-wing retrievals and inter-hospital transfers contracted to the RFDS through SA Ambulance Service (SAAS).
Each flight will be staffed with RFDS nurses for inter-hospital urgent transfers or SAAS MedSTAR critical care teams of doctors, nurses and/or paramedics for retrieval cases.
The rapid response capability will enhance access to critical care.
The RFDS and SAAS MedSTAR conduct approximately 7,400 Inter-hospital transfers and retrievals each year in South Australia.The co-branded Pilatus aircraft for government-funded retrievals will take to the skies this week with more co-branded assets due to be in operation by December.
SA Minister for Health and Wellbeing Chris Picton:
"This huge new investment means patients in emergencies in our regions will be able to be retrieved for life-saving care faster than ever before.
We want every South Australian, no matter where they are in the state, to have access to efficient and high-quality health care.
The Malinauskas Labor Government is committed to improving ambulance response times, whether on the road or in the skies, and these enhancements are a direct result of our investments."
Royal Flying Doctor Service SA/NT Chair Peter de Cure AM:
"We are honoured to continue what is a remarkable partnership with the South Australian Government.
This new agreement will take this partnership to almost 40 years of collaboration and service.Together, SAAS MedSTAR retrieval teams and RFDS aeromedical teams deliver exceptional care for thousands of South Australians every year.
The financial support and operational funding provided by the Government provides long-term security and a commitment to an enhanced level of serviceability which will benefit regional patients.
Within this agreement and outside of it, the RFDS will continue to create public value for South Australia through investment of $100 million of fundraising dollars over the next decade in aircraft replacement, regional and remote health infrastructure and healthcare technologies that support the communities we collectively serve."
SA Ambulance Service Chief Executive Officer Rob Elliott:
"We are very proud to continue our long-term partnership with the RFDS. Together, we are committed to achieving better health outcomes for all South Australians.
Our SAAS MedSTAR retrieval clinicians, working closely with the RFDS, complete around five fixed wing missions, and coordinate 15-20 RFDS inter-hospital transfers each day. Together, they do an incredible job delivering vital care to critically ill, injured and transport ready South Australians.
This contract will streamline our operations, allowing our inter-hospital transfer and retrieval services to function more efficiently, ensuring that both types of patients are managed effectively and without delays.
We focus on the right patient, the right team, the right platform, and the right destination. This helps achieve this goal."
