Landmark contract with RFDS to advance aeromedical services

The State Government has ushered in a new era of aeromedical services in regional Western Australia, signing a new 10-year contract with the Royal Flying Doctor Service WA (RFDS WA) worth more than $800 million.

The contemporised contract places the patient journey front and centre and ensures a modern, streamlined approach to service delivery incorporating the most up-to-date clinical and aviation standards.

Importantly, the milestone investment delivers an increase in frontline staffing of more than 21 FTE including doctors, nurses, and pilots - aiding in the delivery of care to the furthest corners of the State.

It also provides increased capacity based out of RFDS WA's Kalgoorlie and Port Hedland bases.

Building upon existing partnerships with WA Country Health Service (WACHS) and St John Ambulance WA, the modernised agreement also prioritises the sharing of data and resources between agencies to improve response capabilities and performance.

Under this arrangement, specialist medical and nursing staff from WACHS will work with operations staff from transport providers and use real-time data to co-ordinate patient transfers more effectively.

Enhanced Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) have also been embedded in the contract with a focus on making sure patient transport is available when and where it's needed most. 

RFDS WA and WACHS currently work together to coordinate more than 7,500 inter-hospital patient transfers each year.

It is expected the State Government's State Health Operations Centre (SHOC) will further enable enhanced patient transfers supporting service delivery.