Research Report on Royal Flying Doctor Service

This report discusses the Royal Flying Doctor Service, its objectives, practices, and role in providing medical assistance to rural communities in Australia. It also highlights potential funding partners for the organization.

Running head: RESEARCH REPORT ON ROYAL FLYING DOCTOR SERVICE
Research report on Royal Flying Doctor Service
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1RESEARCH REPORT ON ROYAL FLYING DOCTOR SERVICE
Abstract
The subsequent report discusses about the Royal Flying Doctor Service. The organisation
holds a significant position in Australia. Since its foundation the organisation have
contributed immensely for the betterment of rural communities in Australia. The fundamental
practices, objectives, aims are discussed in the report. This analysis will help draw
recommendations for potential funding partners that would help the organisation to provide
more quality health service in future. The organisation receives generous support from
numerous governmental and non-governmental institution. The smooth functioning of the
organisation takes place as a result of its dedicated team that work 24/7.

2RESEARCH REPORT ON ROYAL FLYING DOCTOR SERVICE
Table of Contents
Introduction..............................................................................................................................3
Discussion..................................................................................................................................3
Targeted community..............................................................................................................3
Role of Royal Flying Doctor Services in community............................................................4
Objectives of the organisation................................................................................................4
Fundamental practices of Royal Flying Doctor Services.......................................................5
Health promotional/educational programmes........................................................................6
History of Royal Flying Doctor Service................................................................................6
Funding for the organisation..................................................................................................7
Conclusion.................................................................................................................................7
References.................................................................................................................................9

3RESEARCH REPORT ON ROYAL FLYING DOCTOR SERVICE
Introduction
The Royal Flying Doctor Service is non-profitable organisation, which provides
millions of people in outback regions of Australia with medical assistance. The organisation
has a unique medical service where the team provides aeromedical assistance to people
extensively spread in isolated communities of Australia.
In this report, an in-depth study of the organisation is carried out and in doing so the
potential funding support can be identified who may help the organisation in future.
Discussion
Targeted community
The organisation supports the community that lies in the outback region of Australia.
The dedicated team of the organisation works hand in hand in order to deliver quality
aeromedical services along with other medical assistance. The remote or isolated boundaries
of Australia where population is scarce, these places get support from the Royal Flying
Doctor Service.
The outback regions of Australia have poor or no medical facility or service as a
result of which RFDS team provide the necessary and essential medical support for
improving the health conditions of these communities.
The team of RFDS as of now has covered almost 7.69 million square kilometres of
outback region in providing quality medical service (Flyingdoctor.org.au, 2018). The clinics
set up by the organisation in these areas have provided numerous patients with professional
medical services. Almost 3, 36,358 patients were treated in such clinics in 2017/2018
(Flyingdoctor.org.au, 2018).

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Role of Royal Flying Doctor Services in community
The organisation has been delivering quality health services to people across Australia
since 90 years. The organisation not only delivers aeromedical service, even so it organises
awareness programmes in the remote and rural areas of Australia in order to improve the
health conditions. For instance, the HEALTHY LIVING PROGRAMME organised by RSFD
encourage and educate people about choosing a balanced lifestyle habits in Central Australia
(Johnston, Doyle, Morgan, Atkinson-Briggs, Firebrace, Marika & Rowley, 2013). This has
benefited thousands of people in outback regions from potential health threats. Apart from
these, RFDS also hold research which helps in identifying the health concerns which goes
unrecognised for people living in remote locations of Australia and thus, raising the topic to
the country. One such issue is mental health disorder. According to the research conducted by
RFDS in 2017, people living in remote regions of Australia suffer from mental disorder at
double the rate compared to city people of Australia (Wakerman & Humphreys, 2013).
However, only few are able to access the mental health services due to the lack of awareness
along with scarcity of mental health services. RFDS with its awareness programmes,
researches and most importantly health services have benefited the rural community over a
long period of time and continues to do so.
Objectives of the organisation
RFDS was founded in the first place to provide medical service to places where there
was poor medical facility which is in the outback region of Australia. Since then its aim is to
provide flexible, sustainable and quality healthcare services to people living or working in
secluded or isolated areas of Australia (Health.gov.au, 2018). The following are the
objectives of the program:
 Aeromedical evacuations where patients are transferred from the remote places to a
better hospital facility.

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 Provide patients of outback regions with general practitioners, nurses and health
services.
 Provide health consultations via e-health services.
 Provide necessary medical equipment’s through medical chests thus, treating patients
on-site.
 Organise awareness programmes for people living in outback regions.
 Provide emergency evacuations for concerned patients.
Fundamental practices of Royal Flying Doctor Services
The key role of the organisation is to provide medical provision to people living in
remote or working in outback regions of Australia. The RFDS have following roles that helps
the community for its better:
Emergency Aeromedical Resurgence – RFDS delivers emergency evacuation programmes
for patients who need immediate medical assistance. The aircraft team that are at service
initiate the task of evacuation if the patient need appropriate hospital treatment as the outback
regions lack that (Johnsen, Fattah, Sollid & Rehn, 2016). The team also offers on ground
medical assistance as the aircraft with which the team arrives is well equipped with all the
necessary requirements for primary medical care.
Health clinics – The organisation also carry out regular fly-in and fly-out sessions and
provide with general practitioners (GP), nursing and allied health clinics to rural communities
where there is no availability of appropriate medical system. Almost 3, 36,358 patients were
treated by the RFDS clinics (Flyingdoctor.org.au, 2018). Approximately 44 clinics are set up
every day which offers all the primary healthcare services. Taking into account women’s
healthcare, the team of RFDS also delivers women’s GP to small communities of Victoria.
This have made many female patients to come forward with health issues who are not

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comfortable to consult male doctors. RFDS has segregated its team to different rural regions
of Australia in order to deliver swift, quality medical service.
Consultations Unit
RFDS performs health consultations via telephone communication which forms one
of the key services of RFDS. The health workers or individuals can contact at RFDS base for
medical assistance. The organisation’s registered health professionals provide consultations
to these calls via telephone communication (Raison, Khan & Challacombe, 2015). In
2016/2017 it performed 88,541 telephone health consultation (Flyingdoctor.org.au, 2018).
Health promotional/educational programmes
The organisation continuously make efforts to educate and raise awareness regarding
health issues which generally goes unrecognised. Creating awareness for mental health
disorder was one of the initiative that RFDS took responsibility for. People of rural Australia
suffer from mental health disorder, however due to lack of health services these go
unrecognised. RFDS by conducting researches has revealed this issue among rural people and
eventually establishing mental health services in those locations as well. Adding to this the
organisation also conducts educational programmes where the team of RFDS visit schools in
remote locations of Australia and provide them with knowledge related with health.
History of Royal Flying Doctor Service
The Royal Flying Doctor Service (RFDS) founded in the year 1928 by Reverend John
Flynn is an aeromedical organisation that provides principal medical care to people living in
rural and remote areas of Australia (Flyingdoctor.org.au, 2018). However, the initial initiative
of this organisation started in the year 1917 when Flynn received a letter from a medical
lieutenant for providing medical assistance to outback regions. This suggestion gave idea to
Flynn for the formation of the organisation. An experimental journey was initiated in the year

7RESEARCH REPORT ON ROYAL FLYING DOCTOR SERVICE
1928 and thus the first flight providing medical service from Royal Flying Doctor Service
took place (Flyingdoctor.org.au, 2018). Since then the organisation has been in service for 90
years providing millions of people with aeromedical assistance in remote and rural
communities of Australia.
Funding for the organisation
The Royal Flying Doctor Service receive generous amount of resources and funding’s
from various reputed institutions and companies. It also receives funds from international
partners such as Royal Flying Doctor Service – Friends in the UK that includes trustees who
help to raise funds for the organisation (Herbert, Mercer & Herbert, 2015). Other companies
such as Air BP is one of the most valued partners of the organisation. The company provides
fuel services to the organisation which plays a key role for RFDS’s aircraft transport system.
Apart from these, the organisation gain various support from varied institutions financially as
well as resourcefully.
However, the organisation could get funding from tons of other government or non-
governmental organisation as well. For instance, in order to provide convenient health set up
clinics by using tents some companies could provide resources to the organisation such as
Australian Canvas Company. Apart from these, the organisation could always get resources
that are related with medical equipments which are highly essential for the organisation.
Companies such as Lipotek, Celtaxsys, so on can offer essential health related equipments.
Conclusion
From the above discussion it can be concluded that the Royal Flying Doctor Service
provides the rural communities of outback Australia with medical assistance. Their core
service such as aeromedical have proved to be an achievement for the betterment of the
isolated and rural areas of Australia. As a result the organisation receives tremendous amount

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of support from the government as well as non-governmental institutions. However, it has a
scope for gaining more funding partners in future.

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References
Flyingdoctor.org.au. (2018). History of the Flying Doctor | Royal Flying Doctor Service.
[online] Available at: https://www.flyingdoctor.org.au/about-the-rfds/history/
[Accessed 11 Jul. 2018].
Health.gov.au. (2018). Department of Health | Royal Flying Doctor Service (RFDS)
Program. [online] Available at:
http://www.health.gov.au/internet/main/publishing.nsf/Content/royal-flying-doctor-
service-programme [Accessed 12 Jul. 2018].
Herbert, A. R., Mercer, P. J., & Herbert, R. R. W. (2015). Dorothy Helena Herbert AM, BSc,
MB BS, DObstRCOG. The Medical journal of Australia, 202(7), 391.
Johnsen, A. S., Fattah, S., Sollid, S. J., & Rehn, M. (2016). Utilisation of helicopter
emergency medical services in the early medical response to major incidents: a
systematic literature review. BMJ open, 6(2), e010307.
Johnston, L., Doyle, J., Morgan, B., Atkinson-Briggs, S., Firebrace, B., Marika, M., ... &
Rowley, K. (2013). A review of programs that targeted environmental determinants of
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health. International journal of environmental
research and public health, 10(8), 3518-3542.
Raison, N., Khan, M. S., & Challacombe, B. (2015). Telemedicine in surgery: what are the
opportunities and hurdles to realising the potential?. Current urology reports, 16(7),
43.
Scharwz, F., Ward, J., & Willcock, S. (2014). E-Health readiness in outback communities: an
exploratory study. Rural Remote Health, 14(3), 2871.

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Wakerman, J., & Humphreys, J. S. (2013). Sustainable workforce and sustainable health
systems for rural and remote Australia. The Medical Journal of Australia, 199(5), 14-
17.