Every six months, LifeFlight Retrieval Medicine takes on a new cohort of doctors, training them to become RACQ LifeFlight Rescue Critical Care Doctors, taking lifesaving care to those who need it most, no matter where in Queensland.
Akmez Latona is one of those doctors. Over the past couple of years, he has been to countless incidents and had to deal with many challenges. We recently caught up with him, in between shifts, to talk about his time at LifeFlight and the future.
LFA: Firstly, can you tell us who you are and what you do here at LifeFlight?
AL: My name is Akmez Latona and I am an Emergency and Retrieval Specialist
LFA: How long have you been at LifeFlight Australia?
AL: Over two years now!
LFA: What’s your favourite part of working here?
AL: We all work together to accomplish a mission. From LifeFlight’s base in Toowoomba, we fly to the most severely injured in the Darling Downs region and perform lifesaving interventions both by the roadside and in the air. We help people to breathe, give them blood, splint broken bones and perform some surgical procedures before getting them to hospital.
LFA: What challenges do you face in your role?
AL: We have to improvise and adapt according to the challenges presented to us during any given mission and that’s always changing. Everything from the logistics to the noise, the weather and the geography can impact us and the patients journey to hospital.
LFA: How did you find your niche as an Emergency and Retrieval Specialist?
AL: I always wanted to practice emergency medicine outside of an emergency department. I remember when I was training as an Emergency Specialist, I used to love the sound of the helicopter landing on the helipad. Curiosity brought me to LifeFlight and now I’ve been here over two years. Every day is different and I love it.
LFA: Where do you see yourself in the future?
AL: My dream is to set up a prehospital trauma response team in Mauritius and the neighbouring islands. So, I’m gaining as much experience and knowledge as I can, so one day, I can hopefully make that a reality.
Thank you, Akmez ! We couldn’t do what we do every day without our team. If you’d like to give to LifeFlight to keep our crews in the air, please click here.
