July 16, 2020
Toowoomba is RACQ LifeFlight Rescue’s busiest community helicopter base, completing a record 669 missions during the past financial year.
RACQ LifeFlight Rescue Director of Aeromedical Services Dave Donaldson said these airlifts cost more than $8.3 million.
The majority of the missions were medical transfers but some of the most high-profile involved winching patients from precarious places, including fallen rock climbers.
The top five missions for the Toowoomba chopper, according to illness and injury, were:
- Motor vehicle crashes (69)
- Serious illness/infection (69)
- Cardiac (53)
- Respiratory (47)
- Neurological (44)
RACQ spokesperson Lucinda Ross said the club was proud to be the naming rights sponsor for LifeFlight’s air ambulance jets, helicopters and critical care doctors.
“For 115 years, RACQ has been Queensland’s advocate for improving road safety for motorists, so our sponsorship of LifeFlight is just another way we can help people who become the victims of road crashes,” Ms Ross said.
“Sadly, we still see far too many people injured on our roads.
“But we’re grateful to the RACQ LifeFlight Rescue teams for their work to get Queenslanders the urgent medical care they need, when they need it.”
