When Doctor William Lindores was a child, he saw Queensland’s aeromedical service save his cousin’s life.
It set the wheels in motion for a career in retrieval medicine, and now he’s one of LifeFlight’s newest critical care doctors about to head to Toowoomba and Roma.
“When I was 13, my cousin had a really serious accident and CareFlight at the time, now LifeFlight, went and picked him up from Somerset Dam,” he said.
“It played a really important part in saving his life.”
Dr Lindores is one of 30 doctors about to take flight to help communities across Queensland and beyond after completing rescue-ready training in Brisbane.
Hailing from the small town of St George in western Queensland, Dr Lindores said LifeFlight’s impact on remote and regional communities was profound.
“What I’ve noticed working in medicine, is that one of the biggest things that can impact your health outcomes is where you live,” he said.
“So LifeFlight is a really big part of trying to level out health equity and trying to deliver specialist care to people from small towns who don’t have access to that.”
Dr Lindores had a week of intensive aeromedical training at the LifeFlight Training Academy in Brisbane in preparation for the new role.
He will join Dr Aoibhinn Harbinson, Dr Aidan Whish and Dr Christopher Wood at the LifeFlight Toowoomba and Roma bases.
The program put the new doctors to the test through clinical scenarios, winching, Helicopter Underwater Escape Training (HUET) and sea survival, helping ensure they are rescue ready from day one.
During HUET, the retrieval registrars were taken through multiple scenarios simulating a helicopter crash into water and how to safely exit the aircraft.
LifeFlight HUET Manager Mick Dowling said the specialist training gave doctors necessary skills to work safely 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, where they responded to realistic, simulated scenarios including a multi-vehicle collision.
Queensland Fire Department (QFD) personnel also taught the new recruits how to safely extricate a patient from a road accident.
LifeFlight is the largest employer of aeromedical doctors in the country with more than 180 medical professionals.
The Toowoomba and Roma-based aeromedical crews helped 1,067 people in the past financial year, which was an increase of seven per cent on the previous period.
LifeFlight came to the aid of 8,982 people in the past year – helping nearly six per cent more people than the previous year.
The majority of LifeFlight critical care doctors’ work is performed on behalf of Queensland Health, with missions tasked by Retrieval Services Queensland within Queensland Ambulance Service.
