New LifeFlight Bundaberg critical care doctor David Liu knows what it’s like to be the only doctor in town.
His experience has spanned rural communities across Australia in remote locations from Karratha in Western Australia, to Alice Springs in the Northern Territory.
It is one reason why he has joined LifeFlight as he knows the struggles of remote health centres and the importance of LifeFlight’s aeromedical service.
“In really small communities, sometimes I was the only doctor in town,” Dr Liu said.
“Having services like LifeFlight really matters. As doctors, we would want to know that we’ve got back up. We would want to know that our patients aren’t being disadvantaged by being where they are.
“Being able to have services like this does mean that if you’re sick in the country, you get a fair go.”
Dr Liu, who worked on the Gold Coast before moving to Bundaberg, said he’s enjoyed getting to know the community while exploring the region.
“My experience of people in small towns is that they’re lovely people,” he said.
“And obviously the Bundaberg rum factory – I have to give that place a plug because it’s got an amazing amount of charm.”
Dr Liu is one of 33 doctors about to head out and support Queenslanders from tropical Far North Queensland to the red-earth plains of the Maranoa region.
He will join Dr Chris Hewitt at the LifeFlight Bundaberg base.
Dr Liu had a week of intensive aeromedical training at the LifeFlight Training Academy in Brisbane in preparation for his new role.
From Helicopter Underwater Escape Training (HUET) and sea survival to rescue winching and clinical scenarios, the program put the new doctors through their paces to get them mission ready from day one.
During HUET, the retrieval registrars were taken through multiple scenarios to simulate a helicopter crash into water and how to safely exit the aircraft.
LifeFlight HUET Manager Mick Dowling said the specialised training provided the necessary skills to aid the doctors while working on board a helicopter.
“Our mission is to have the doctors skilled with the confidence to be able to deal with any aviation situation that they may be faced with,” he said.
“The common response we get from them after the completion is that it was challenging and uncomfortable, but overall, an amazing experience.
“It’s highly unlikely the aircraft will be required to be ditched into the water, however all crew are trained should they face that situation.”
After being tumbled upside down through the water and learning how to survive out on the open water, the doctors were taken through winching procedures.
LifeFlight Deputy Chief Aircrew Officer Todd Seymour said the winch training prepared them for the unpredictability of the role.
“The doctors learn multiple exercises. They learn how to be winched out of the aircraft by themselves, how to be winched out of the aircraft with a rescue crewman or paramedic and learn how to accompany a stretcher into the aircraft,” he said.
“They’re going to remote areas across Queensland and they could be in dense bushland or out to sea off a cruise ship, so it’s important they’re delivered the training they need to perform these roles to a high and safe standard.
“No two days are the same for us at LifeFlight.”
The doctors also had their clinical skills pushed to the limit at the Queensland Combined Emergency Services Academy, with realistic simulated scenarios such as a multi-vehicle collision.
The new recruits were also taught how to extract a patient from a road accident by Queensland Fire Department (QFD) personnel.
LifeFlight employs more than 180 medical professionals, including doctors, nurses and paramedics, making it Australia’s largest employer of aeromedical doctors.
The Bundaberg-based aeromedical team helped 401 people in 2025.
LifeFlight came to the aid of 8,838 Queenslanders in 2025 – 4.2 per cent higher than the previous year.
The Bundaberg-based LifeFlight helicopter and crew service the Wide Bay-Burnett region and beyond.
The majority of LifeFlight critical care doctors’ work is performed on behalf of Queensland Health, tasked by Retrieval Services Queensland, within Queensland Ambulance Service.
