About Us
Dear Sir/Madam
In April I suffered a massive heart attack at Lithgow Hospital. After what I have been told was magnificent work by the Lithgow team, I was transferred to Westmead hospital by CareFlight. I am fully aware I was not expected to survive this trip, but due to the professionalism of your team I can now write this letter of gratitude. My survival can be attributed to many factors (including doctors and nurses at Lithgow and Westmead) but without CareFlight I would now be dead, to put it simply. I cannot thank you enough for saving my life.
— Robert
Twenty four years ago a group of doctors had a shared vision: to create a better medical retrieval service in New South Wales. They believed that very sick patients who need to be moved between hospitals, and severely injured patients who need to be treated at the accident scene, should be attended by critical care specialists who can perform 'physician only' procedures. From this vision, CareFlight was born.
A base was established in the grounds of Westmead Hospital and a helicopter was commissioned. Initially, with only one doctor on duty each day, CareFlight flew to some four patients a month. Over the years the organisation has evolved and expanded and now we have medical operations in four states/territories and at least 11 doctors on rostered duty every day of the year. Our doctors cover shifts on NSW Ambulance Service helicopters, road ambulances and fixed wing air ambulances; shifts on the CareFlight helicopters; and shifts on the CareFlight International Air Ambulance medi-jets which operate out of Sydney, Darwin, Perth
and Cairns.
CareFlight has a strong focus on teaching and medical research. We train trauma specialists and senior registrars in critical care in the transport and pre-hospital environment, and hold teaching accreditation with the Critical Care Colleges. CareFlight has played a major role in the evolution of critical care transport in Australia, having been a leader in research and development of both systems and equipment employed in retrieval medicine. Out of this research has emerged CareFlight's Head Injury Retrieval Trial (HIRT), a major clinical trial to evaluate the impact of advanced pre-hospital medical interventions in the treatment of severe head injury.
We are planning to expand our medical research and education programs and are currently in the process of developing a rural trauma education program which will benefit all of New South Wales.
CareFlight is a registered charity.
We work in partnership with the New South Wales Government, Ambulance Service of New South Wales and Motor Accidents Authority of New South Wales. However, most of our funding needs are met through private donations from the community, including individuals, service clubs and businesses. As a charity, we rely on community support to provide our life-saving service without cost to the patient.
CareFlight International Air Ambulance, the fee-for-service branch of the organisation, provides medical retrieval services anywhere in the world. The revenue generated by CareFlight International Air Ambulance missions goes directly to supporting our charitable operations.