The Australian Government is investing $5.4 million to expand medical transport and specialist outreach clinics for people living in rural and remote areas of Queensland, New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory.
This funding includes $1.1 million for LifeFlight and $4.3 million for Little Wings.
LifeFlight operates a fleet of helicopters and air ambulance jets to provide 24/7 lifesaving rescue services to people across Queensland.
This grant will support the Bundaberg LifeFlight Rescue helicopter service to employ a critical care doctor as part of its crew, 7 days a week during daylight hours in Bundaberg.
Little Wings provides ongoing air and ground transport to take seriously ill children and their families from regional and remote areas of New South Wales to city hospitals for treatment.
The grant will support Little Wings to buy a new plane, to increase their service capacity in New South Wales and expand into Queensland and the Australian Capital Territory to meet growing demand. It will also support specialist outreach clinics for rural patients, as well as training workshops for more than 1,500 health workers in rural areas.
Quotes attributable to Assistant Minister Emma McBride:
“Making sure all Australians have access to quality health care, no matter where they live, is an Australian Government priority.
“The Albanese Government is making it easier for people living outside of our capital cities to access emergency and specialist health care.
“LifeFlight and Little Wings provide critical support to Australians when they need urgent transport for specialist health care that’s not available in their close to home.
“We’re proud to support LifeFlight and Little Wings to expand their services, so that more Australians can get the urgent health care they need, when they need it.”
