CareFlight

Last updated

CareFlight is an air medical service headquartered in Westmead, New South Wales, Australia.

Contents

CareFlight
FoundedMay 1986;37 years ago (1986-05)
Type Not-for-profit organisation
Legal statusCharity
PurposeAeromedical and primary health care
Headquarters Westmead, New South Wales, Australia
Chairman
 Andrew Refshauge
CEO
Mick Frewen
Website careflight.org.au

History

In 1987, CareFlight became the first emergency helicopter service in NSW to be on 24-hour duty. 1987 First 24 hour emergency helicopter NSW.jpg
In 1987, CareFlight became the first emergency helicopter service in NSW to be on 24-hour duty.
In 1991, CareFlight's 2000th patient, six month-old Nathan Isedale, is flown to Camperdown Children's Hospital after being admitted to Bowral Hospital with viral pneumonia. 1991 CareFlight's 2000th patient.jpg
In 1991, CareFlight's 2000th patient, six month-old Nathan Isedale, is flown to Camperdown Children's Hospital after being admitted to Bowral Hospital with viral pneumonia.
In 1996, CareFlight is the first Australian medical team to use an intra-aortic balloon pump during a helicopter patient transfer. 1996 CareFlight uses an intra-aortic balloon pump during a helicopter patient transfer.jpg
In 1996, CareFlight is the first Australian medical team to use an intra-aortic balloon pump during a helicopter patient transfer.
In 2000, CareFlight launched second helicopter operations with the Central West emergency helicopter in Orange. 2000 Launched second helicopter.jpg
In 2000, CareFlight launched second helicopter operations with the Central West emergency helicopter in Orange.
In 2007, CareFlight conducted their first International Air Ambulance mission. 2007 First air ambulance mission.png
In 2007, CareFlight conducted their first International Air Ambulance mission.
In 2009, CareFlight established helicopter operations in Darwin. 2009 CareFlight helicopter operations established in Darwin.jpg
In 2009, CareFlight established helicopter operations in Darwin.
In 2011, CareFlight launched its MediSim trauma care workshops, designed for local emergency services personnel and volunteers. 2011 MediSim trauma care workshop.jpg
In 2011, CareFlight launched its MediSim trauma care workshops, designed for local emergency services personnel and volunteers.
In 2018, CareFlight became the first Australian aeromedical service to routinely carry plasma. 2018 CareFlight first Australian service to routinely carry plasma.png
In 2018, CareFlight became the first Australian aeromedical service to routinely carry plasma.
In 2020, CareFlight was awarded the inter-hospital patient transport jet contract by the NT Government. 2020 CareFlight awarded jet contract.jpg
In 2020, CareFlight was awarded the inter-hospital patient transport jet contract by the NT Government.
CareFlight CEO Mick Frewen with CareFlight's H145 helicopter, which launched in 2021. Mick Frewen with H145.jpg
CareFlight CEO Mick Frewen with CareFlight's H145 helicopter, which launched in 2021.

CareFlight was founded in Sydney, Australia in May 1986 as an aeromedical charity. Its mission is to save lives, speed recovery and serve the community. Since conducting their first mission in their sole helicopter, the Squirrel AS350B, in July 1986, [1] CareFlight has grown to include helicopters, turboprop and jet aeroplanes, which fly on both domestic and international missions. In 2019, around 7,900 patients were treated by CareFlight. [2]

Domestic Missions

CareFlight conducts daily missions across Australia, treating and transferring patients from accident scenes and between hospitals.

Major domestic missions

In 1998, CareFlight rescued seven sailors from the stricken yacht Business Post Naiad during wild storms in the 1998 Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race. [3] The CareFlight crew of that mission later received the Prince Philip Award. [4]

In 2003, CareFlight attended the Waterfall train crash in which seven people were killed. CareFlight medical teams triaged, treated and transported the injured. [5]

In 2015, CareFlight launched a complex rescue mission to rescue helicopter pilot Matt Gane after his mustering helicopter crashed more than 800 km south-east of Darwin.

In 2019, CareFlight rescued a critically ill man from a cruise ship that was located 200 kilometres off the coast of mainland Australia. This mission saw the CareFlight crew using a complex hover and winch recovery technique due to the cruise ship not having a helipad. [6]

International Missions

Since their first international retrieval mission, in 1990, from Penang, [7] CareFlight has been bringing injured or sick overseas Australians back home.

Major international missions

In 2001, CareFlight played a role in the repatriation of victims of the Bali bombing in Denpasar, Bali. [8]

After the attempted assassination of East Timor's President Jose Ramos Horta in 2008, CareFlight International flew the President from Dili to Darwin, Australia, for medical treatment. [9] CareFlight's clinical team comprising a specialist doctor, two nurses, pilot and first officer flew to New Zealand from Sydney on Thursday 12 December to retrieve two patients, who had suffered critical injuries in the 2019 Whakaari / White Island eruption. [10] [11]

Research and Innovation

Since 1986, CareFlight has invested in clinical, aviation, logistics and business planning research projects.

In 1998, CareFlight introduced their specially designed Stretcher Bridge, the first portable intensive care module. The unit incorporates a ventilator, oxygen and suction capabilities, monitors, and infusion pumps. The development of this concept has shaped and simplified the cabin fit of subsequent air medical craft, both rotary and fixed-wing. [12]

CareFlight designed and conducted the Head Injury Retrieval Trial (HIRT), the world's first randomised clinical trial to evaluate the benefits of rapidly transporting a doctor to patients with head injuries. Over the six-year period of the study (2006-2011), CareFlight responded to more than 1,500 patients. [13] Most patients had been involved in motor vehicle accidents (the leading cause of brain injury from traumatic head injury), falls and other workplace accidents. [13]

The HIRT research data indicated a 16 per cent reduction in deaths (45 percent to 29 percent) when unconscious patients are treated by a doctor. [13] [14] Former CareFlight Medical Director and Chief HIRT Investigator, Dr Alan Garner OAM, presented the results of this ground-breaking research at the 2012 International Conference for Emergency Medicine in Dublin. [14]

In April 2018, CareFlight became the first and only civilian aeromedical service in Australia to perform pre-hospital plasma transfusions as part of their rapid response helicopter service. Clinicians have described this development as a 'quantum leap' in emergency treatment. Experts suggest that, in certain cases, this innovative approach could save one in three people who would otherwise succumb to their injuries. [15]

In 2019, CareFlight completed a research study [16] looking at new technology for warming blood for use in pre-hospital blood transfusions. The first stage of the research confirmed the benefits of warming blood in emergency transfusions and the second stage tested different devices that can be used to rapidly warm blood in just minutes during the procedure. This research study, partially funded by the Medevac Foundation in the United States, was conducted in partnership with the cardiac anaesthesia services and blood bank at The Children's Hospital at Westmead. [17]

Awards and Contracts

CareFlight received the 1998 Award for Aviation Safety Excellence in the AOC category. [7]

In June 2011, the Northern Territory Government announced the award of a ten-year Top End Medical Retrieval Service contract to CareFlight. [18] [19] In October of the same year, CareFlight became Australia's only aeromedical provider to be awarded the European Aeromedical Institute (EURAMI) Accreditation for three years, Australia's only provider to hold this. [20]

CareFlight Today

Today, CareFlight uses a fleet of helicopters, jet aircraft, turbo-prop planes and road vehicles, across Australia. In Sydney, CareFlight's rapid response helicopter, with a specialist doctor and critical care paramedic on board, attend to critically ill or injured patients performing treatments including roadside surgery and blood and plasma transfusions. [21]

CareFlight retrieves seriously ill and injured patients from outback Northern Territory using helicopters, turbo prop planes and aeromedical jets as part of the Top End Medical Retrieval Service. CareFlight has operated this service (TEMRS) under an agreement with the Northern Territory Government since 1 January 2013. This agreement followed an open tender in 2011 to provide an integrated aeromedical service in the Top End. [22]

CareFlight provides helicopter search and rescue services to organisations such as the Australian Maritime Safety Authority and provides pilots, aircrew and engineers to assist organisations such as New South Wales Rural Fire Service manage bushfire threats. They also provide critical and emergency care trained doctors to New South Wales Ambulance for fixed wing, rotary wing and road ambulance operations.

Seriously ill and injured interstate and internationally are treated and transferred via helicopter, turbo prop aeroplanes and jets. Patients are also transferred using specially modified road transport vehicles for specialist treatment in major hospitals.

Aircraft

In February 2021, CareFlight launched their Airbus H145 helicopter. [22] [23] The H145 was chosen for CareFlight's rapid response helicopter service as it can reach patients in its service area within 15 minutes.

In April 2021, CareFlight NT launched their Gulfstream G150 jet, Australia's first medical jet capable of transporting patients from south-east Asia. The G150 can fly 5,300 kilometres at a speed of 1,000 km/h, allowing it to travel from its base in Darwin to Sydney and Melbourne in under four hours. [24]

Board and governance

CareFlight's board monitors and reviews the company's compliance with its statutory obligations ensuring it meets its legal obligations. [25] Andrew Refshauge is the chairperson of the board, and Mick Frewen is the chief executive officer.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Royal Flying Doctor Service</span> Aeromedical organisation in Australia

The Royal Flying Doctor Service (RFDS), commonly known as the Flying Doctor, is an air medical service in Australia. It is a non-profit organisation that provides emergency and primary health care services for those living in rural, remote and regional areas of Australia who cannot access a hospital or general practice due to the vast distances of the Outback.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New South Wales Ambulance</span> Provider of pre-hospital emergency care in New South Wales, Australia

NSW Ambulance, previously the Ambulance Service of NSW, is an agency of NSW Health and the statutory provider of pre-hospital emergency care and ambulance services in the state of New South Wales, Australia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scottish Ambulance Service</span> Scotlands public ambulance services

The Scottish Ambulance Service is part of NHS Scotland, which serves all of Scotland's population. The Scottish Ambulance Service is governed by a special health board and is funded directly by the Health and Social Care Directorates of the Scottish Government.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shock Trauma Air Rescue Service</span> Canadian air ambulance service

The Shock Trauma Air Rescue Service is a Canadian non-profit helicopter air ambulance organization funded by individual donors, service groups, corporate donors and government contributions. STARS provides rapid and specialized emergency care and transportation for critically ill and injured patients. STARS operates from bases in Calgary, Edmonton, Grande Prairie, Regina, Saskatoon, Winnipeg and formerly Halifax.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Westpac Lifesaver Rescue Helicopter Service</span> Helicopter rescue service in Australia

The Westpac Lifesaver Rescue Helicopter Service is a helicopter surf lifesaving service that operates in Australia.

A flight paramedic is a paramedic who provides care to sick and injured patients in an aeromedical environment. Typically a flight paramedic works with a registered nurse, physician, respiratory therapist, or another paramedic. Flight paramedics must have an advanced medical knowledge along with years of clinical experience. Flight paramedics in the United States usually hold certifications such as the FP-C or the CCP-C, while in countries like the United Kingdom, they are typically required to hold a postgraduate certificate in critical care as a minimum, with many holding a master's degree in advanced practice or aeromedical critical care.

Air ambulance services in the United Kingdom provide emergency medical functions, patient transport between specialist centres, or medical repatriation. Services are provided by a mixture of organisations, operating either helicopters or fixed-wing aircraft. All emergency air ambulance helicopters in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland are operated by charities, while Scotland has one charity service in addition to its two NHS-funded helicopters. Fixed-wing air ambulances, used for patient transport, may be government or privately operated. Air ambulance helicopters are complemented by Coastguard SAR helicopters.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Flight nurse</span> Specialist in rescue/evacuation patient care

A flight nurse is a registered nurse who specialises in the field of providing comprehensive pre-hospital, emergency critical care, and hospital care to a vast scope of patients. The care of these patients is generally during aeromedical evacuation or rescue operations aboard helicopters, propeller aircraft or jet aircraft. On board a rescue aircraft you would find a flight nurse accompanied by flight medics and respiratory practitioners, as well as the option of a flight physician for comprehensive emergency and critical transport teams. The inclusion of a flight physician is more commonly seen in pediatric and neonatal transport teams. A critical care flight nurse must be able to deal with all age groups with broad critical emergencies. With no physicians on site the nurses scope of practice is expanded. The critical care experience is transferred over to a flight nurse with impacting factors such as altitude and changes in pressure, gravitational forces, and weather. Some patients may experience exacerbation because of factors related to the cabin environment including hypoxia, limited mobility, gas expansion, and risk of injury related to turbulence and resources with definitive care are limited. Aeromedical evacuation crews coordinate with other organizations to plan for the safe and timely care and evacuation of patients. Crews must be prepared for patients with trauma and mental health illnesses.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">East Anglian Air Ambulance</span> English air ambulance charity

The East Anglian Air Ambulance (EAAA) is an air ambulance providing Helicopter Emergency Medical Services (HEMS) across the English counties of Norfolk, Suffolk, Cambridgeshire and Bedfordshire. The appeal to fund the service was launched in the summer of 2000 by top jockey Frankie Dettori, who had been a casualty in a serious plane crash a couple of months earlier. When flying commenced in January 2001, the service was initially available only one day a week. The East Anglian Air Ambulance operates two helicopters, 365 days a year, from its bases at Cambridge Airport and Norwich Airport, covering over 5,000 square miles (13,000 km2) and a population of approximately 3.5 million.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Emergency Medical Retrieval Service</span>

The Emergency Medical Retrieval Service (EMRS) is part of ScotSTAR retrieval service. The EMRS provides aeromedical critical care retrieval and pre-hospital care to people in Scotland in the form of two retrieval teams. The service provides patients in remote and rural areas with rapid access to the skills of a consultant or senior doctor in emergency medicine, intensive care medicine or anaesthesia, and facilitates transfers to larger, better equipped urban hospitals. The EMRS functions supplementary to the regular Scottish Ambulance Service Air Ambulance service. Unlike air ambulance services in other parts of the UK, EMRS has no dedicated aircraft but both EMRS North and West are funded by the Scottish Government. The EMRS has featured on the Channel 5 documentary series Highland Emergency, which charts the work of rescue services in the Scottish Highlands.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Queensland Ambulance Service</span> State ambulance service in Queensland, Australia

The Queensland Ambulance Service (QAS) is the state emergency ambulance and patient transport provider in Queensland, Australia. QAS is part of the Queensland Government under the Queensland Health portfolio and is one of the largest ambulance services in the world.

SAAS MedSTAR is the specialist emergency medical retrieval service for the state of South Australia. MedStar is operated by SA Health through the SA Ambulance Service and is designed to respond to trauma, medical and disaster emergencies anywhere within the state. MedSTAR Kids is the paediatric and neonatal service provided by MedSTAR.

Essex & Herts Air Ambulance Trust (EHAAT) is a charity air ambulance service providing a free, life-saving Helicopter Emergency Medical Service (HEMS) for the critically ill and injured of Essex, Hertfordshire and surrounding areas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Air medical services</span> Use of air vehicles to transport patients

Air medical services are the use of aircraft, including both fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters to provide various kinds of medical care, especially prehospital, emergency and critical care to patients during aeromedical evacuation and rescue operations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wales Air Ambulance</span> Welsh charity air ambulance

The Wales Air Ambulance Charitable Trust, known as Wales Air Ambulance Charity (WAAC) or, is a charity air ambulance service providing a free, life-saving helicopter emergency medical service (HEMS) for the critically ill and injured in Wales. It is an independent charity that relies on charitable donations to supply and maintain a fleet of emergency aircraft and rapid response vehicles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Luxembourg Air Rescue</span>

Luxembourg Air Rescue (LAR) is a private, humanitarian air rescue organisation in Luxembourg, the Greater Region surrounding Luxembourg or worldwide through the operation of its helicopters and air ambulances.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Snowy Hydro SouthCare</span>

Snowy Hydro SouthCare was a rescue and aeromedical helicopter service based in Canberra, Australia from 1998 to 2017.

Scottish Specialist Transport and Retrieval (ScotSTAR) is the Scottish national service for adult, paediatric and neonatal patients. The service is run by the Scottish Ambulance Service and brings together NHS Scotland's three specialist transport and retrieval services: the Scottish Neonatal Transport Service (SNTS), the Transport of Critically Ill and Injured Children Service and the Emergency Medical Retrieval Service (EMRS). The service operates from a bespoke base near Glasgow and expects to be able to cater for 2,200 critically ill children and adults every year.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">LifeFlight Australia</span>

LifeFlightAustralia is an aeromedical organisation headquartered in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. Until July 2016, it was known as CareFlight, but was renamed to avoid confusion with the CareFlight organisation headquartered in New South Wales. LifeFlight has helped over 81,000 people since 1979.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">DRF Luftrettung</span> Air rescue services company in Germany

The DRF Luftrettung is part of the German emergency medical services as a branch of the air medical services. The DRF Luftrettung and its subsidiaries operate in Germany, Austria, and Liechtenstein. The organization's headquarter is in Filderstadt. The DRF Luftrettung is Germany's second largest non-commercial air medical organization after the ADAC Luftrettung.

References

  1. ↑ "History of the NSW trauma system". Institute of Trauma and Injury Management. 24 September 2021. Retrieved 11 October 2023.
  2. ↑ CareFlight 2020 Annual Report https://careflight.org/about-us/annual-reports/annual-report-2020/
  3. ↑ "Helmsman's story of the Business Post Naiad tragedy". www.sail-world.com. Retrieved 11 October 2023.
  4. ↑ "The Prince Philip Helicopter Rescue Award". www.airpilots.org. Retrieved 11 October 2023.
  5. ↑ "Nine die in Sydney train crash". The Sydney Morning Herald. 31 January 2003. Retrieved 11 October 2023.
  6. ↑ "Five in critical condition after series of CareFlight rescues in NT". ABC News. 2 September 2019. Retrieved 14 April 2024.
  7. 1 2 “30_year_timeline.pdf” in Careflight.org
  8. ↑ Tran MD, Garner A, Morrison I, Sharley P, Griggs W & Xavier C. “The Bali Bombing: Civilian Aeromedical Evacuation.” Medical Journal of Australia 2003 179: 353-6.
  9. ↑ "Timor-Leste President in critical condition". www.chinadaily.com.cn. Retrieved 11 October 2023.
  10. ↑ “Flying Australians home after disaster” in CareFlight.org https://careflight.org/flying-australians-home-after-disaster/
  11. ↑ Cunningham, Rachel Clun, Melissa (12 December 2019). "Fears of donor skin shortage in Australia as volcano victims arrive for treatment". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 11 October 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  12. ↑ Wishaw KJ, Munford BJ & Roby HP. “The CareFlight Stretcher Bridge – a compact mobile intensive care module.” Anaesthesia & Intensive Care 1990 18 (2):234-45
  13. 1 2 3 Garner AA, Mann K, Fearnside M, Poynter E, Gebski V. “The Head Injury Retrieval Trial (HIRT): a single-centre randomised controlled trial of physician pre-hospital management of severe blunt head injury compared with management by paramedics only.” Emergency Medicine Journal 2015; doi:10.1136/emermed-2014-204390.
  14. 1 2 14th International Conference on Emergency Medicine - 2012 - Academic Emergency Medicine - Wiley Online Library
  15. ↑ "Provider Profile: CareFlight". AirMed&Rescue. Retrieved 11 October 2023.
  16. ↑ Milligan J, Lee A, Gill M, Weatherall A, Tetlow C, Garner “A. Performance comparison of improvised prehospital blood warming techniques and a commercial blood warmer.” Injury 2016. DOI: www.injuryjournal.com/article/S0020-1383(16)30209-1/abstract.
  17. ↑ . Weatherall, M. Gill, J. Milligan, C. Tetlow, C. Harris, A. Garner, A. Lee (2019) “Comparison of portable blood-warming devices under simulated pre-hospital conditions: a randomised in-vitro blood circuit study. https://doi.org/10.1111/anae.14680 https://associationofanaesthetists-publications.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/anae.14680
  18. ↑ "Mission stories Archives". CareFlight. 13 September 2023. Retrieved 11 October 2023.
  19. ↑ "CareFlight wins aeromedical service contract". ABC News. 16 June 2011. Retrieved 11 October 2023.
  20. ↑ "Provider Summary - EURAMI - European Aero-Medical Institute". EURAMI. Retrieved 11 October 2023.
  21. ↑ Government, Northern Territory (28 June 2021). "Aerial medical services". nt.gov.au.
  22. 1 2 "CareFlight takes delivery of Australia's first EMS H145".
  23. ↑ "CareFlight becomes Australia's first H145 EMS operator - Australian Defence Magazine". www.australiandefence.com.au.
  24. ↑ Bullock, Clara. "New medical jet can transport patients across Australia". AirMed&Rescue.
  25. ↑ "Our Board and Governance". CareFlight. Retrieved 11 October 2023.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.