Doctor Nathan Blyth used to watch LifeFlight critical care doctors take unwell patients from Toowoomba Hospital to tertiary-level care in metro areas.
Now he’s the doctor on board, ready to spring into action to help communities in the Darling Downs and Maranoa regions.
“We receive a lot of patients from the Darling Downs, and the helicopters play a large role delivering them to us,” he said.
Dr Blyth said the high level of patient care shown by LifeFlight doctors had inspired him to pursue the role.
“All of that encourages people like me to want to be a part of that system and that job,” he said.
He said his family was taken aback by Toowoomba’s weather after coming from tropical Townsville.
“Growing up in Townsville, it’s a hot place. You often hide inside in summer,” Dr Blyth said.
“When we moved to Toowoomba it was summer and we thought the weather was amazing. Then that first winter came, and no more thongs and singlets – it’s multiple layers of clothing.”
He will join Dr Eva Andreotti, Dr Philip Gardiner and Dr Elizabeth Grimmond at the LifeFlight Toowoomba and Roma bases.
Dr Blyth said he’s looking forward to seeing stunning scenery from the air.
“I’m quite excited to take the opportunity to see the local communities and a part of Queensland I haven’t seen yet,” he said.
Dr Blyth 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 had a week of intensive aeromedical training at the LifeFlight Training Academy at Brisbane Airport 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 Toowoomba and Roma aeromedical crews helped 1,060 patients in 2025.
The Roma-based Surat Gas Aeromedical Service (SGAS) helicopter service, backed by SGAS partners Origin Energy and Australian Pacific LNG, Santos, and Shell, generously donates up to 350 flying hours each year to assure the Roma and Maranoa communities of aeromedical coverage.
LifeFlight came to the aid of 8,838 Queenslanders in 2025 – 4.2 per cent higher than the previous year.
The majority of LifeFlight critical care doctors’ work is performed on behalf of Queensland Health, tasked by Retrieval Services Queensland, within Queensland Ambulance Service.
