The state government has signed off on a $800 million contract with the Royal Flying Doctor Service to help bolster its capacity in remote WA.
The state government has signed off on a $800 million contract with the Royal Flying Doctor Service to help bolster its capacity in remote Western Australia.
The 10-year contract will facilitate an additional 21 full-time frontline staff members, including doctors, nurses and pilots for the aeromedical service.
It also provides for increased capacity at RFDS’s Kalgoorlie and Port Hedland bases, aiding its mission of serving regional and remote WA.
The contract also facilitates the sharing of data and resources between agencies including WA Country Health Service and St John Ambulance to improve response capabilities.
Medical and nursing staff from WACHS would work with operations staff from transport providers, using real-time data to coordinate patient transfers more effectively, the state government said.
Currently, RFDS and WACHS work on more than 7,500 inter-hospital patient transfers each year.
Health Minister Amber-Jade Sanderson said the milestone 10-year contract would deliver a more cohesive, streamlined, integrated transport service designed in the best interest of country patients.
"It provides a clear roadmap for aeromedical patient transport services now and into the future and importantly, includes an uplift of more than twenty-one FTE in frontline staff including doctors, nurses, and pilots,” she said.
"Royal Flying Doctor Service WA plays an important role in supporting the delivery of care to country communities. This contract enshrines the need for those services to be delivered in partnership with the rest of the health system.”
RFDS WA chief executive Judith Barker said the new agreement with the state government set the service up for a bright future in regional WA.
“We are proud to be part of the fully integrated health network across WA, which includes our close collaboration with regional hospitals, St John WA and many other organisations,” she said.
