Although it's best known for the aero-medical retrieval services that brought it into existence, the Royal Flying Doctor Service has been taking on many extra roles in recent years, including COVID vaccine delivery nationally and in Queensland, palliative care.
As Deputy Prime Minister Michael McCormack announced last week in Dubbo that the federal government was engaging the service to deliver vaccines in remote communities, the Queensland section advised that it was now trialling specialised palliative care services for people living in rural and remote Queensland, for the first time in its history.
RFDS (Queensland Section) CEO Meredith Staib announced the new program as part of National Palliative Care Week, saying that it would extend the time someone could live in their home and in their community, regardless of whether they resided in far western Queensland or a major city.
She said the aim of the program was to deliver in-person and in-community care to help ensure greater quality of life throughout a person's final days, and their intention was to eventually roll out the service across all current RFDS primary health care locations in Queensland.
RFDS palliative care nurse Abbe Rejack sees the new service as helping bridge the gap in palliative care service delivery for people in remote areas, which are currently very limited.
"Providing a face-to-face assessment, complimentary to the telehealth services currently delivered by other healthcare providers, allows us to more thoroughly treat someone's symptoms to help promote good quality of life, while supporting individuals to live as well as possible for as long as possible in their preferred place of care," she said.
Following an initial assessment, RFDS palliative care specialists formulate a contingency plan with the patient and their family, outlining how and when there should be a transfer of care to a hospital setting.
Ms Staib said initial community feedback had been extremely positive.
"Ideally, if this role was to expand, we would consider employing additional specialist palliative care nurses to better serve the state," she said.
"Telehealth is a great option once you've met and engaged with the person, however offering a complimentary face-to-face service will further assist in the level of care we can provide.
"We firmly believe that all Queenslanders deserve access to the best healthcare possible throughout their entire life, regardless of where they live. This palliative care program is just another way the Flying Doctor is helping to deliver on that promise."
COVID vaccine delivery
Primary health care clinics, mental health outreach clinics, and dental care services have been entrenched in the RFDS's service delivery for a number of years now, and the vaccine rollout to remote Australian communities is yet another area through which the service is delivering confidence for them.
Regional Health Minister Mark Coulton said the national partnership meant remote communities could be confident in their ability to access vaccination against COVID-19.
"From the outset of this pandemic, the RFDS has provided retrievals, evacuations, swab transfers, and fly-in GP respiratory clinics, protecting the lives of people living and working in the most remote corners of the country," he said. ""Nobody knows remote communities like the RFDS and it makes sense for the government to utilise their capacity and knowledge to ensure all Australians are protected against this global pandemic."
Mr McCormack said that regional, rural and remote Australia has been one of the safest places in the world in which to live during the COVID-19 pandemic and the vaccine roll-out would ensure it continued well into the future.
Planning is well underway for communities in remote Australia, including:
- Queensland - Cape York communities, Normanton, Doomadgee, and Longreach.
- South Australia - Kangaroo Island, APY Lands, Yalata, and Oak Valley.
- Western Australia - NG lands, One Arm Point, Cape Leveque, and Fitzroy Valley.
- New South Wales - Ivanhoe, Menindee, Tibooburra, Wilcannia, Innamincka, and White Cliffs.
- Northern Territory - Alice Springs
The federal government has committed $35.2 million to fund RFDS's COVID-19 activities since April 2020.
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Sally Gall
Based at Blackall, CW Qld, where I've raised a family, run Merino sheep and beef cattle, and helped develop a region - its history, tourism, education and communications. Get in touch at 0427 575 955 if you've got a story idea for me.
Based at Blackall, CW Qld, where I've raised a family, run Merino sheep and beef cattle, and helped develop a region - its history, tourism, education and communications. Get in touch at 0427 575 955 if you've got a story idea for me.
