Construction is under way on a $21 million flying doctor base at Launceston as Westpac agrees to keep sponsoring Tasmania’s rescue helicopter service.
The Tasmanian government says the first soil was turned on the new base that will enable the RFDS to cover all of the island state, including Bass Strait Islands, Hobart says; it will replace the current based which opened in 1998.
Facilities will cater for clinical care, aircraft and helicopters, road transfers and the space to cater for a surge in worker numbers once construction is complete.
The government claims the service will be able to extend its support for mental health, dental and general practitioner services to the regions and maintain its current services.
Funding is split between Canberra ($15m) and Hobart ($6m).
CONSTRUCTION BENEFITS
Construction is expected to create up to 62 jobs with 41 ongoing healthcare jobs once the base is operational.
Federal Infrastructure and Regional Development Minister Catherine King says that the sod-turning ceremony comes weeks after a new RFDS hangar opened at Mount Isa, northern Queensland.
“We have the back of the Royal Flying Doctor Service; through that, Tasmanians know we have their backs too.”
Tasmanian Health Minister Bridget Archer explains that last December they (Ambulance Tasmania) signed a 10-year deal with the RFDS to maintain their aerial service, boosted by a new twin-engined Beechcraft King Air B350 aircraft.
“The redevelopment will boost fixed-wing aeromedical responses throughout Tasmania and provide improved facilities to support transiting rotary-wing aircraft during complex deployments.”
Federal MP for Bass Jess Teesdale says: “Everyone knows the irreplaceable lifesaving services provided by the Royal Flying Doctors.
“I hope, through this new hangar, they continue to play their crucial role for decades to come.”
RFDS chief executive officer Nicole Henty says the funding is “a significant investment in aeromedical services in northern Tasmania”.
“The Launceston Base redevelopment will ensure RFDS Tasmania can continue to support the delivery of high‑quality emergency and primary health care when and where it is needed,” she says of the post-construction base.
“Modern, fit‑for‑purpose facilities are critical to maintaining safe and efficient operations,” he says.
“This redevelopment will enhance operational readiness, support our teams, improve communications and enhance our working partnerships across our 10-year aeromedical contract with Ambulance Tasmania and reinforces our commitment to rural and remote communities.”
Click here for more about the RFDS.
WESTPAC BACK ONBOARD
Meanwhile, Westpac’s new deal with the rescue helicopter service will allow for more rescue equipment, protective equipment for air crew and advanced training.
The service is used to transport patients, join in search and rescue operations and help with police; it is provided by Ambulance Tasmania and Tasmania Police using StarFlight aircraft.
Westpac Regional General Manager (Tasmania) Justin Caccavo says that in the last year, the Service flew close to 1000 missions to remote and difficult conditions.
Early this year, StarFlight said their crews had been kept busy including airlifting a male hiker aged in his 60s to hospital with a knee injury.
The operator says the injured hiker activated an emergency beacon at a remote location on the West Coast; a helicopter landed on sand dunes close to him and flew him to Royal Hobart Hospital.
Other missions included helping find a woman in Southwest National Park and airlifting a female hiker from Cradle Mountain after she was bitten by a snake.
OUR EARLIER STORY: Planning approved for new base
