Picture this. It’s 45 degrees and you’re outside. It’s been a long day and the sun is still baking hot. You have flown to a remote community in WA’s north to care for a critically unwell COVID-19 patient who needs urgent transport to hospital. There is little shade as you begin treatment and prepare your patient to fly.
You are armed with PPE, face mask and gloves which you will wear for the long flight. It is hard to have a cold drink or go to the toilet with all that gear on. It’s difficult to talk to your patient and put them at ease with all those layers between you, but you do your best.
When you finally land and the patient is safely in an ambulance, you’re desperate to strip that PPE off as fast as you can, but you must remove each item with painstaking care to avoid any contamination that could put you, your colleagues or other patients at risk.
This is the experience of our flying doctors in a pandemic. It is a tough job, but the doctors, flight nurses and pilots will not give up on these communities, far flung across WA.
We know there will be many challenges in 2022, but with your support we are ready to face them. Your support this Autumn will help:
-Boost our workforce with more clinical and support crews to meet surges in demand.
-Train our crews to provide excellent care in the air and in remote locations, including the best COVID-19 training.
-Buy medical equipment for our aircraft so regional Western Australians receive the care they deserve.
