The Sunshine Coast-based RACQ LifeFlight Rescue helicopter crew came to the aid of 481 people last financial year, making it a record year for the service.
The 2022-23 financial year saw the overall service’s rescue helicopters, Air Ambulance jets, Critical Care Doctors, Flight Nurses and Paramedics assist 7349 people in need.
LifeFlight traces its proud history in Queensland back to 1979 on the Sunshine Coast, when the rescue chopper took off on its first mission from a base at the Big Cow on the Bruce Highway.
Since then, the service has come to the aid of more than 81,000 people.
Serving the Sunshine Coast region and far beyond, the chopper team spent more than 744 hours flying during the year, covering bushland to beaches.
The most common reason for the crew to be tasked directly to an emergency scene, was to attend serious motor vehicle incidents, with 77 motor vehicle incidents required urgent aeromedical response.
“Across the state crashes continue to be one of the main reasons why RACQ LifeFlight Rescue is called out on missions. Last year Qld had its worst road toll in more than a decade. When we look at what’s causing those crashes it continues to be the Fatal Five. That’s speeding, driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol, driving distracted, driving fatigued and not wearing a seatbelt.” said RACQ spokesperson Lauren Cooney.
“It’s simple. When you’re behind the wheel, make a commitment to get back to basics. Take road safety seriously and do everything you can to get to your destination safely.”
In November, a woman was trapped in her vehicle which had overturned on a gravel road in a forestry area. She was airlifted to hospital.
Other incidents involved dirt bike crashes, some of which also required the patients to be winched from bushland, a ride-on mower rollover and a serious collision between a car and a scooter.
“E-scooters are becoming more and more popular as a mode of transport but people need to remember that they are not a toy, they can be very dangerous. Before you get on an e-scooter make sure you know your road rules and make sure you treat it as you would when you’re driving a car,“ said Ms Cooney.
The top five mission categories in 2022/23 for the Sunshine Coast RACQ LifeFlight Rescue helicopter were:
1. Motor vehicle incidents (77 missions).
2. Cardiac/chest pain (68 missions).
3. Medical/illness (41 missions).
4. Neurological (39 missions).
5. Falls (32 missions).
The total cost of the missions performed by the Sunshine Coast crew is estimated to be $12.4 million, which comes at no charge to patients.
The Sunshine Coast crews were called to multiple rescues of lost or injured bushwalkers in the Glass House Mountains and other hinterland areas.
One mission in December became a multi-agency effort to rescue a woman who was injured and trapped on a ledge, after falling down a cliff at a popular waterfall. She was carried through rough terrain on a stretcher before a delicate winch operation to hoist her into the RACQ LifeFlight Rescue helicopter.
RACQ LifeFlight Rescue Critical Care Doctors and QAS Flight Paramedics are vital members of the Sunshine Coast helicopter crew, which means patients receive the highest level of medical care from the moment the rescue chopper lands at a location, as well as in-flight.
“They are able to go to the roadside scenes to stabilise patients and provide definitive care, like they would in a tertiary hospital or tertiary intensive care unit. Essentially our doctors, nurses and paramedics carry pretty much a mobile intensive care unit where they can do lots of procedures – whether that’s on the side of the road or within a small hospital, to stabilise patients and bring them to that higher level of care,” said Dr Jeff Hooper, LifeFlight director of clinical services and governance.
While there have been numerous dramatic rescue missions, much of LifeFlight’s aeromedical work involves Inter-Facility Transfers (IFT) – moving patients between medical facilities – which ensure all communities have equal access to the best possible healthcare, no matter where they are in the state.
“I think that the work we do for IFTs is really important to the people of Queensland – the majority of Queensland is a rural environment and people are a long way from really high levels of tertiary hospital care,” said Dr Hooper.
“Our feeling is that every Queenslander deserves that opportunity to be rapidly transferred to a world class standard of care.”
2,153 missions were performed by the combined fleet of RACQ LifeFlight Rescue helicopters with the majority tasked by Retrieval Services Queensland on behalf of Queensland Health.
