Leading the Way

CareFlight’s focus is to improve patient outcomes by innovating and providing rapid response critical care. Over the last 25 years, we:

• developed the doctor/paramedic helicopter crewing model that is now the standard in Australia;
• developed the single
  
  The CareFlight Stretcher Bridge
  phone call system to activate medical retrieval services;
• developed the world’s first critical care stretcher bridge system, derivatives of which are now standard across Australasia and used in Europe and North America, with one version recently introduced to service by the US Air Force;
• developed Australia’s only civilian disaster medical cache and deployable surgical capability. The cache waas deployed to Banda Aceh following the tsunami in 2004, and the Jogyaarta earthquake in 2006.
• developed the first medical audible alarm integrated into the intercom system to allow doctors to hear medical equipment alarms in the noisy helicopter environment;
• carried out Australia’s first helicopter intra-aortic balloon pump transport retrieval;
• built Australia’s first helicopter medical simulator, allowing crews to practise medical procedures & uncommon medical scenarios in a life-like helicopter simulator;
• ran Australia’s premier pre-hospital trauma course attended by retrieval doctors from Canberra, Newcastle, Orange, Tamworth, Gosford, Wagga, Coffs Harbour, Queensland, South Australia, New Zealand and the Australian Defence Force;
• contributed to 25% of the world research literature examining the role of physicians in the staffing of helicopters;
• published more papers in peer reviewed journals than the combined output of all other Australasian retrieval services;
• were one of the first emergency helicopter services in Australia to go on 24-hour duty, the first to introduce an instrument flight rules twin-engined helicopter and one of the first civilian operators to use night vision goggles;
• developed, sought financing for and ran HIRT, the world’s first randomised clinical trial to evaluate the benefits of rapid response physician care to head injury patients.