RACQ LifeFlight Rescue’s busiest base has celebrated 15 years of delivering critical aeromedical care across the South West region.
On the 15th of December 2006, an RACQ LifeFlight Rescue (formerly known as CareFlight) base was established in Toowoomba, to ensure every person in South West Queensland had equal access to emergency medical care.
The introduction of the service – which started as a part-time operation – was made possible by a passionate group of local business owners – affectionately named the Darling Downs Dozen. The group banded together to raise the necessary funds to launch the local helicopter base.
“Once we got our first job, which was to Goondiwindi, the jobs just kept coming – since then we’ve really proved our worth and value in this area,” said RACQ LifeFlight Rescue Aircrew Officer Mark Arthur.
“Coming through the years, we had a single engine helicopter, and now we’ve got one of the best helicopters around.”
“We continue to strive to provide the best critical care, and the facilities here in Toowoomba are second to none, from what I’ve seen, in Queensland.”
Before the Toowoomba RACQ LifeFlight Rescue helicopter service was launched, patients requiring critical medical assistance, were often treated by the organisation’s then Gold Coast based crews.
Stanley Paynter was one of many patients treated by the South East crews, in 2001.
Stanley was badly injured in a workplace accident near Jandowae, in which he was caught between a truck and an irrigation pipe.
He suffered spinal injuries, a cracked hip and a broken pelvis and was flown to Toowoomba Hospital for emergency surgery.
“It’s been 20 years since the incident and I’m happily married, I have three awesome children, and although I still have pain in my hip and some issues with movement, I wouldn’t be here without RACQ LifeFlight Rescue,” Stanley Paynter said.
His story is just one of many which highlighted the need for a local helicopter rescue service, to be ready to respond to more incidents in the South West even faster.
“RACQ LifeFlight Rescue is a safety net, you just know the helicopter can get to you wherever you are and it gives you a lot of confidence,” he said.
“Having been in one of the helicopters, you’re just forever grateful, there are just not enough words to show how grateful you really are.”
Once the decision was made for the service to be established, ever increasing demand led to the Toowoomba base moving to a full-time operation in 2010. The transition from part-time to full-time resulted in a significant spike in missions, including providing assistance during the 2011 floods. Following that time, a bigger aircraft – a Bell 412 – was introduced to the base.
In 2011, LifeFlight saw another momentous milestone reached in Toowoomba, with the establishment of the LifeFlight Surat Gas Aeromedical Service – created by four organisations: Arrow Energy, Origin Energy, Queensland Gas Company, and Santos.
The venture aimed to minimise the impact on local medical services and ensure mining employees, their families and community members in South West Queensland had access to prompt emergency medical services.
Soon after, in 2016, Toowoomba’s helicopter fleet saw an upgrade, with a state-of-the-art AW139 introduced to the base.
Two years on, in 2018, Toowoomba’s helicopter missions were deployed from a brand new base, called the Clive Berghofer LifeFlight Centre. Long-term supporter of LifeFlight, Clive Berghofer, made the upgraded base possible by contributing $2 million to the development – matching $2 million of funding from the Federal Government under it’s Building Better Regions Fund.
“We wouldn’t be where we are today without the incredible generosity of Clive Berghofer, who has been an integral supporter since day one, as part of the Darling Downs Dozen,” said LifeFlight Foundation Board Director Mike Stewart.
“Community contributions have always been essential to our service – and continue to be,” said Mike Stewart.
“LifeFlight is grateful to our many supporters who have helped along the way, such as Toowoomba Regional Council and Mayor Paul Antonio – who has been part of the journey since 2012.”
The current multi-million dollar, purpose-built facility features on-site accommodation for crews for 24/7 operations, a purpose-built workshop for engineering activities, administration and other staff facilities. The opening of the centre marked another major step for LifeFlight as it continues to bridge the medical gap between rural and metropolitan Queensland.
Today, the Toowoomba base is a hive of activity, with two AW139’s, delivering outstanding critical care to Queenslanders from across the South West. The helicopters are faster, and fully equipped with the equivalent to an intensive care unit, allowing medical crews to administer the highest level of pre-hospital patient care in-flight. The reduced flying time also means patients are connected to advanced specialist care, in major hospitals across Queensland, sooner than ever before.
