February 2, 2014
The RACQ CareFlight helicopter has airlifted a suspected spider bite victim aged in his 40s from Chinchilla Hospital.
The man was gardening when a spider, believed to be a funnel web, bit him.
He attended Chinchilla Hospital for treatment and assessment by staff before RACQ CareFlight was tasked to transport him.
“We flew him from Chinchilla to Toowoomba Base Hospital,” CareFlight Aircrewman Brian Guthrie said.
“He was in a stable condition.”
Nearly 55 per cent of airlifts undertaken by RACQ CareFlight Rescue in the past financial year have been the transfer of seriously sick or injured patients from regional hospitals to larger facilities for more specialist treatment.
CareFlight Critical Care doctors encourage anyone who suspects they have been bitten by a funnel web spider to stay calm, limit movement, apply compression and immediately contact emergency services.
