In the early morning of 17 May 1928, Australia’s very first RFDS flight took off. Bringing healthcare to patients in the bush was something many thought would never be possible – yet nearly 94 years later, the RFDS is still a lifeline to those living far from our major cities.
Since that first flight, RFDS has continued to grow and adapt to new challenges to uphold our promise to provide a ‘mantle of safety’ to everyone who lives, works, or travels across regional Australia.
Every day, nearly 30 Western Australians rely on the RFDS to provide life-saving care.
Over the past 94 years, RFDS crews have risen to that challenge to bring the finest emergency and primary healthcare to the furthest corners of Australia.
In the past 12 months, the Flying Doctor in WA has continued to respond to the pandemic, flown more than nine million kilometres, increased our aircraft fleet and introduced the RFDS Fortescue Heli-Med Service.
In 2022 as we move to the next phase of our management of COVID-19, we expect to face new challenges as a community.
This Flying Doctor Day, we will call on the Western Australian community to help us through the ongoing challenges of COVID-19 and continue to invest in technology and training that make us the world-leading aeromedical service that Western Australians deserve.
The one thing we can be certain of is that with the WA community standing by our side, the RFDS will continue to innovate and rise to every new challenge that comes our way, just like we have for the past 94 years.
We hope you join us on Flying Doctor Day, as we reflect on how we have grown, recognise the dedicated hard work of our crews and look to the future of our service.
