CareFlight Review

Information

Who They Are

CareFlight is an Australian aeromedical charity, established in 1986.

CareFlight’s mission is to save lives, speed recovery and serve the community by providing the highest standard of rapid response critical care.

They use helicopters, aeroplanes and medi-jets to bring a hospital level of care to the critically ill and injured. CareFlight’s aircrew, medical teams and coordinators work closely together to ensure that patients receive the best care as soon as possible.

CareFlight doctors and nurses are specially trained in pre-hospital and transport medicine. They care for severely injured patients who need emergency treatment at the scene of the incident. They also transport seriously ill patients who need to be moved between hospitals.

CareFlight has a strong focus on education. Over the years CareFlight has trained hundreds of critical care specialists in the unique and challenging environment of pre-hospital and transport medicine.

“Everything CareFlight has achieved over the years has been with the support of the community we serve. That loyal and generous support has made it possible for CareFlight to spread our wings across Australia and beyond. We rely on our many partners and friends to provide the resources to make the CareFlight difference.”

Their Vision

To be the most advanced integrated aeromedical service trusted by all Australians.

Their Mission

To save lives, speed recovery and serve the community.

Their Work

Emergency & Rescue Services

CareFlight strives to provide the highest standard of rapid response critical care to the ill and injured.

CareFlight brings the hospital to people who cannot wait to get there for life-saving care. Their specialist doctors, nurses and paramedics use air ambulances to reach critically ill and injured patients.

CareFlight also provides search and rescue support to the Australian Maritime Authority (AMSA). Their night vision capability and winch equipped helicopters allow them to locate and rescue people in the dark and from difficult to access places.

Patient Care & Transfer

CareFlight treats and transports patients needing specialist care, from accident scenes and between medical facilities, across Australia and internationally.

Their highly trained doctors, nurses and paramedics provide the finest care possible outside a major teaching hospital. They use specially fitted and equipped helicopters, turbo-prop air ambulances and medi-jets to get their patients quickly and safely to the most appropriate medical facility.

To many Australians, a CareFlight aircraft in the sky has come to mean comfort in times of crisis. For the critically ill and injured, and for those caring for them on the ground, CareFlight brings hope and help.

Education & Training

CareFlight has established the highest quality education programs in pre-hospital and aeromedical transport critical care.

CareFlight’s commitment to excellence and leadership in pre-hospital and transport critical care goes beyond training our specialist doctors and nurses. They develop and deliver education and training programs for their partners in the chain of survival. They also offer trauma care training to emergency services volunteers who may be first on scene at accidents in rural and remote areas.

Careflight International Air Ambulance

CareFlight’s medi-jet operations and specialist medical teams transfer critically ill and injured patients from anywhere in the world and domestically – extending a lifeline to people wherever they are. In addition, they offer a range of specialist services including on site medical support, medical advice, clinical governance, case management and logistics & coordination services.

Innovation & Research

CareFlight is dedicated to continuous improvement through research and innovation. Their goal is to continuously improve the model of care, systems and equipment used in aeromedicine.

Through continuous research and innovation, CareFlight has developed an integrated aeromedical emergency service which has defined it as a leader in the field for over 30 years.

Ideas are turned into initiatives that save more lives and achieve better patient outcomes.

Current Initiatives

CareFlight currently works in the air and on the ground, across urban, regional, remote and international areas to deliver these core services:

Retrieving seriously ill and injured patients from outback NT using the Top End Rescue Helicopter and turbo prop aircraft
Responding rapidly in urban environments in the Rapid Response Helicopter with a doctor and intensive care paramedic to perform life-saving treatments
Flying and maintaining Rural Fire Service helicopters to assist specialist fire fighters in bushfire access, intelligence gathering and fire ground mapping across NSW
Providing MediSim Trauma Care Workshops for first responders across Australia at no cost to participants
Providing pre-hospital trauma workshops and specific education courses around Australia such as Sick and Injured Kids in the Bush – clinical training for remote health workers in treating critically ill babies and children
Providing critical and emergency care trained doctors to NSW Ambulance, including fixed and rotary wing operations pursuant to the Medical Services Agreement
Transferring patients in regional areas for specialist treatment in major hospitals using air and road transport vehicles
Retrieving sick and injured workers from offshore oil and gas facilities.

Recent Wins

According to the 2019 Annual Report, CareFlight cared for 6,540 Australians that year.

Highlights include:

Careflight Rapid Response Helicopter Service

“The last year saw CareFlight’s Rapid Response Helicopter (CRRH) service become the modern evolution of the foundation helicopter rescue service established back in 1986. Today, the service aims to have a specialist clinical team on scene with a patient as quickly as possible by launching the helicopter in minutes and reaching the major proportion of the population of Sydney to deliver a life-saving intervention as quickly as possible.”

Top End Medical Retrieval Service

“Our service operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week and transports patients from remote communities to care in the three hospitals servicing the Top End – Royal Darwin Hospital, Katherine Hospital and Gove District Hospital. During the financial year, we completed more than 3,400 retrievals.”

MediSim

“In the last year we delivered 74 Trauma Care Workshops across Australia, training more than 1,000 volunteer first responders, police, parks rangers, nurses, emergency service and rescue volunteers and paramedics. We also trained 99 clinicians at 12 Sick and Injured Kids in the Bush workshops in the Northern Territory and South Australia. Additionally, we ran sessions in Indigenous communities to help residents in remote regions better prepare for the arrival of CareFlight helicopter or fixed wing medical teams.”

Palmerston Inter-hospital Road Transport Service

The Palmerston Inter-hospital Road Transport Service (PIRTS) commenced in August 2018. PIRTS transfers patients that require higher level care from Palmerston Regional Hospital to Royal Darwin Hospital for different procedures and services.

NSW Rural Fire Service

In August 2018, CareFlight commenced a new contract with the NSW Rural Fire Service (RFS) to assist with preventative bush fire measures including fire bombing and back burning pre-fire season. This year we undertook around 250 community engagement activities including 65 base visits, 74 community presentations, and attended 111 events in the community

Ways to Donate

You can donate here by credit card, cheque or money order by completing a donation form.

https://careflight.org/support-us/donate-form/

You can also buy collectibles and merchandise. All proceeds help CareFlight save lives.

https://careflight.org/support-us/donate-form/

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