The Fraser Coast region is a busy area for the Wide Bay-Burnett LifeFlight helicopter crew. With 410 missions completed in the region during the 2023-24FY, demand for the service continues to soar.
The specialised aeromedical crews onboard the Wide Bay-Burnett LifeFlight helicopter aided local communities when they needed vital, lifesaving transport.
LifeFlight attended varied incidents over the past Financial Year in the Fraser Coast region, with motor vehicle accidents, search and rescues and cardiac events at the top of the list.
The Wide Bay-Burnett crew clocked up 668 flying hours, including 36 wide-scale searches.
Late in 2023, the crew performed four ocean rescues in a week, including winching an injured man from the deck of a 20-metre trawler after a 200kg steel frame fell and pinned him to the deck.
The aeromedical organisation also provided inter-facility transfers to patients, helping them receive the best possible medical treatment.
The scenery of the Fraser Coast attracts crowds of tourists, eager to experience the beautiful beaches, towns and bushland of the region.
This year, the Wide Bay-Burnett helicopter crew provided medical transport to patients at K’gari, after experiencing everything from jellyfish stings to heat exhaustion.
The aeromedical crews also attended snakebites, mountain winches and medical episodes, airlifting patients from rural and regional areas for time-critical treatment.
The Wide Bay-Burnett community helicopter is in its second year of having a LifeFlight critical care doctor on board during the day, with demand for the services increasing throughout the region.
The Critical Care Doctor Project is a locally funded community initiative. Fundraising started in 2021, and the service launched in August 2022 with a three-day rostering system. By February 2023, the importance of having a LifeFlight critical care doctor onboard the helicopter was recognised, and the service moved to having a doctor onboard seven days a week during the day.
LifeFlight is now fundraising to have a LifeFlight critical care doctor on the Wide-Bay Burnett helicopter seven days a week, 24 hours a day.
Local community groups and businesses have generously hosted fundraising events throughout the year to show their support.
Principal Dealer of Wide Bay Motor Group Jason Wiegmink backed the project since the beginning as one of its original supporters, and he continues to promote the initiative within his community.
The Hervey Bay Chamber of Commerce selected LifeFlight as the charity beneficiary in March this year, and Janet Persal from The Beach House Hotel held an inaugural Wide Bay Motor Group – Beach House Hotel Gala Ball on 11 May, which raised an incredible $30,000.
K’gari campground, Cathedrals on Fraser, is also a great supporter of LifeFlight and continue to donate to the local service through recycling initiative, Containers for Change.
Former LifeFlight volunteers Doug and Sandra also raised funds through the initiative and have donated more than $10,000.
Hervey Bay Boat Club pledged $28,000 a year for three years to cover the cost of medical consumables, and the Hervey Bay Bendigo Community Bank donated $100,000 over a three-year period towards the project.
LifeFlight is hosting a Fraser Coast Lawn Bowls Day on Friday 25 October 2024 at the Urangan Bowls Club. This event is in its third year and gives the opportunity for LifeFlight to connect with the local community and raise awareness of the aeromedical organisation’s projects.
If you want to get involved in the Lawn Bowls Day event and help get a LifeFlight critical care doctor on board the Wide Bay-Burnett helicopter 24/7, contact Community Engagement Lead Aleisha Evans on Aleisha.evans@lifeflight.org.au or 0408 206 510 to secure your team.
The Bundaberg-based LifeFlight helicopter and crew service the Wide Bay-Burnett region and beyond.
