A computer rendered image of the new aeromedical hub. Image: Brisbane Airport
Construction work on a $217m Queensland aeromedical precinct at Brisbane Airport is taking off amid growing demand for the service.
Located between the airport’s parallel runways for quick road ambulance access, the multi-tenanted precinct will become home to the Royal Flying Doctor Service (RFDS), LifeFlight, Retrieval Services Queensland and Queensland Police Service Aviation Capability Group.
The $217 million precinct, a joint project between the airport and the state government, will accommodate 26 aircraft with 18,700 square metres of hangar and headquarters space, 17,800 sq m of tarmac parking and parking for 450 staff.
The facility will integrate and collate patient aeromedical retrieval and transport, clinical and logistic co-ordination, including statewide telehealth clinical and education support for rural and remote hospitals.
It will feature hangars for fixed and rotary wing aircraft, administration areas, and a medical base for regional patient and donor transfers.
A new patient transfer facility will cater for people transferring between aircraft and (road) ambulance. In the 2023-24 financial Year, the RFDS flew 4611 patients to Brisbane Airport. LifeFlight’s Air Ambulance jets flew 528 patients and its helicopters helped 552 people.
The development will target 5 Star Green Star accreditation and includes a 400kW solar system, staff cafe and recharge station.
ADCO Constructions is eyeing a December 2026 completion date with 150 people employed on-site during construction and more than 400 people working once it is open.
REACTIONS
“There’s nothing like the scale of Brisbane Airport’s Aeromedical Precinct anywhere in the world. This groundbreaking project will significantly enhance the level of care for Queenslanders needing urgent treatment in Brisbane,” Brisbane Airport CEO Gert-Jan de Graaff says.
“Around 18 patients every day are flown in and out of Brisbane Airport. Those transfers between aircraft and ambulance will now take place inside a patient transfer hub at the core of the Aeromedical Precinct.
“Currently RFDS, LifeFlight and other emergency agencies are spread across Brisbane Airport, kilometres apart. The Aeromedical Precinct will bring them together in one location, centrally located between our two runways so they can quickly get into the air,” he explains.
“Not only will these lifesavers work together — they’ll learn from each other.”
Qld Minister for Health and Ambulance Services Shannon Fentiman predicts that the new hub will “transform the aeromedical network”.
Retrieval Services Queensland A/Executive Director Michael Cussen said the new precinct was a reaction to growing demand for aeromedical services.
“We know demand for aeromedical services is growing. In the last financial year, on average 60 patients were flown across every day across the state; around 18 of those patients transferred to and from Brisbane hospitals via the airport, he says.
“The Aeromedical Hub will co-locate Queensland Health’s statewide aeromedical services, ensuring a co-ordinated approach to delivering life-saving care.
“The facility will have a purpose-built patient transfer facility to provide continued care for patients and optimise the efficient use of aeromedical assets by reducing the need to wait for ground transport during patient transfers in Brisbane,” he says.
RFDS Queensland Chief Executive Officer Meredith Staib says they are “excited to see construction begin”.
“The RFDS (Queensland Section) transfers around 13,000 patients via aeromedical services every year, many of those via our Brisbane base,” she says.
“We look forward to the opening of the brand-new patient facility in the future which will enable further important collaboration with our partners in care including LifeFlight and Queensland Health.”
LifeFlight Chief Operating Officer Lee Schofield says they are “delighted” by the “premier super base”.
“LifeFlight proudly calls Brisbane Airport home. From this base we’ve had another bumper 12 months across a range of rescue helicopter missions and international repatriations with our 604 Challenger jet.”
