The Roma-based LifeFlight Surat Gas Aeromedical Service (SGAS) helicopter crew came to the aid of 74 people last Financial Year.
It was a significant contribution to an overall record 2022-23 Financial Year for LifeFlight Australia, with the service’s rescue helicopters, Air Ambulance jets, Critical Care Doctors, Flight Nurses and Paramedics helping 7,349 people in need.
LifeFlight traces its proud history in Queensland back to 1979 and the service has now come to the aid of more than 81,000 people.
The Roma LifeFlight SGAS helicopter undertakes community missions at no charge to patients, as part of the SGAS partners’ commitment to assisting in providing the Maranoa region and beyond, with community aeromedical coverage, by donating 150 flying hours each year.
Missions are now being performed by crews operating from their new Roma facility. The purpose-built Lee Family and Australian Country Choice LifeFlight Centre opened in May, the result of Federal Government, generous community members, businesses, major donors, the Maranoa Regional Council, the SGAS partners and LifeFlight Australia all working together.
The most common reason for the Roma chopper crews to be tasked directly to an emergency scene last Financial Year, was to attend serious motor vehicle incidents.
“These accidents often have multiple injured patients and it’s a life changing scenario for lots of people. Our job is to manage these patients on the side of the road and provide critical care interventions and transport these patients to hospital for often life-saving surgery, as quickly as we can,” said Dr Jeff Hooper, LifeFlight Director of Clinical Services and Governance.
“I think this is a big part of our work and it’s a critical part of what we do and we are there for the people of Queensland every day of the year.”
Ten motor vehicle incidents required urgent aeromedical response. They included on and off-road incidents and involved two and four-wheeled vehicles.
“It’s simple. When you’re behind the wheel, make a commitment to get back to basics. Take road safety seriously and do everything you can to get to your destination safely,” said RACQ spokesperson Lauren Cooney.
Responding to patients in need of urgent aeromedical care after incidents involving falling from or being injured by animals were also in the top five community mission categories.
The top five community mission categories in 2022/23 Financial Year for the Roma LifeFlight SGAS helicopter were: 
1. Motor vehicle incidents (10 missions)
2. Fall from animal (9 missions)
3. Abdominal (7) & Cardiac (7)
4. Animals (6 missions)
5. Medical (4 missions)
The community missions performed by the Roma LifeFlight SGAS crews come at no charge to patients.
Critical Care Doctors and Flight Paramedics are vital members of the Roma LifeFlight helicopter crew, which means patients receive the highest level of medical care from the moment the rescue chopper lands at a location, as well as in-flight.
“They are able to go to the roadside scenes to stabilise patients and provide definitive care, like they would in a tertiary hospital or tertiary intensive care unit. Essentially our doctors, nurses and paramedics carry pretty much a mobile intensive care unit where they can do lots of procedures – whether that’s on the side of the road or within a small hospital, to stabilise patients and bring them to that higher level of care,” said Dr Hooper.
Much of LifeFlight’s aeromedical work involves responding to medical emergencies and performing Inter-Facility Transfers (IFT) – moving patients between medical facilities – which ensure all communities have equal access to the best possible healthcare, no matter where they are in the state.
“I think that the work we do with IFTs is really important to the people of Queensland – the majority of Queensland is a rural environment and people are a long way from really high levels of tertiary hospital care,” said Dr Hooper.
“Our feeling is that every Queenslander deserves that opportunity to be rapidly transferred to a world class standard of care.”
The majority of community missions performed by the Roma LifeFlight SGAS helicopter crew are tasked by Retrieval Services Queensland on behalf of Queensland Health.
