RACQ LifeFlight Rescue Helicopter.
RACQ Air Ambulance jet.
LifeFlight Australia has completed a record financial year of saving lives.
In the past 12 months, RACQ LifeFlight Rescue’s combined resources of community helicopters, Air Ambulance jets and Critical Care Doctors, have performed 6,733 lifesaving missions - 400 more than the previous financial year.
RACQ LifeFlight Rescue Director of Helicopter Operations, Brian Guthrie, said RACQ LifeFlight Rescue helicopters, operating out of five bases across Queensland, came to the aid of 2,113 people.
"We are operating in a different health environment, with the challenges of COVID-19, but we've adapted to those and ultimately we're out there, continuing to do missions and expanding our capability," Mr Guthrie said.
49 patients rescued by the helicopter teams were from areas in Ipswich, Scenic Rim, Lockyer Valley and Gold Coast.
The RACQ LifeFlight Rescue Air Ambulance jets, based in Brisbane and Townsville, performed 494 lifesaving missions - a record for the fixed wing fleet.
The jet and helicopter crews were busier than ever, flying more than 4,600 hours in total.
LifeFlight Commercial Director Tim McGuire said the Brisbane-based jet crews who service Ipswich and Scenic Rim areas, completed 200 rescues in the past 12 months, another record.
“The jets are mostly called on to bring people from remote and rural areas, into major centres, such as Brisbane, where they can access a higher level of medical care,” he said.
The top five call outs the Queensland RACQ LifeFlight Rescue Helicopters received were for;
1. Cardiac (322)
2. Motor vehicle accidents (309)
3. Serious illness/infection (218)
4. Neurological (147)
5. Falls (133)
With motor vehicle accidents among the top reasons for helicopter call outs across the service, naming rights sponsor, RACQ spokesperson Clare Hunter called for drivers to consider the fatal five, every time they hit the road.
"The work that RACQ LifeFlight Rescue do is literally lifesaving, if they weren't able to get to these crashes in time, then sadly our road toll would be even more horrific than it already is," she said.
“They are there to help and we’re very grateful for their service, but we wish that they didn’t need to attend these crashes.”
