A Scottish doctor is one of three new retrieval registrars who are rescue-ready to help communities in Far North Queensland, on board the Cairns-based AW139 Queensland Government Air (QGAir) helicopter.
Dr Andy Cochrane’s career previously included Cairns and he was looking for a chance to go back.
Dr Cochrane has just completed training at the LifeFlight Training Academy, to prepare him for aeromedical retrieval work on board a helicopter.
He said he was looking forward to gaining the same qualities and skills as his colleagues who had boasted of their time with LifeFlight.
“I decided to come to LifeFlight to do critical care work. There’s quite a few of my bosses at work that are LifeFlight retrieval consultants,” Dr Cochrane said.
“You start to notice some of the qualities they’ve borrowed from their LifeFlight training.
“You can always tell when someone’s been through it. You’re seeing how quickly they’re organising the team and how quickly things are moving.”
And when he’s not saving lives and rescuing patients, he’s hoping to take advantage of some of the leisure activities offered in the region.
“I did a lot of hikes, trails and waterfalls, but never quite felt like I managed to get enough of it done. This seemed like the time to do it,” he said.
Dr Cochrane is one of 26 doctors about to head to their new bases across Queensland. But first, the new critical care doctors had to undergo a week of intensive aeromedical training at the LifeFlight Training Academy, and complete Helicopter Underwater Escape Training (HUET), rescue winching and clinical scenario training.
More than 180 medical professionals, including doctors, are employed by LifeFlight, making it the largest employer of aeromedical doctors in Australia.
LifeFlight HUET Manager Mick Dowling, said the doctors go through four scenarios in the simulator to equip them with the necessary skills to escape an underwater helicopter, in the unlikely event of a crash into water.
“Worldwide figures tell us that when an aircraft or helicopter goes into the water, it’s going to rotate over because it’s top heavy,” Mr Dowling said.
“In our simulation training, the occupants are put into a position that replicates the helicopter.
“The simulator allows us to teach them the skills to stay orientated, and once they have adopted those skills, they will have no problems finding exits.”
After been submerged, spun and lifted out of the water, the doctors took to the sky for winch training.
LifeFlight aircrew officer Brett Hansen, said the winching exercises taught doctors the vital life-saving skills needed to reach patients located in remote and often inaccessible areas.
“As a rescue organisation, winching is probably the most dangerous thing we do and it’s pretty crucial to how we operate,” Mr Hansen said.
The new critical care doctors were taken through winching individually, then in pairs and finally with a stretcher as part of the exercises.
“When operating in a confined area that we can’t land in, it’s crucial to have those skills,” he said.
The new recruits also put their pre-hospital clinical skills to the test at the Queensland Combined Emergency Services Academy at Whyte Island in Brisbane, where they participated in several high-pressure scenarios.
Each simulation was designed to mimic a real-life, worst-case scenario the doctors may be confronted with, such as a multi-casualty car crash, a house party incident and even a boating disaster.
QGAir is part of the Aviation Capability Group within the Queensland Police Service.
It has a fleet of five AW139 helicopters operating from bases in Cairns, Townsville and Brisbane, performing life-saving tasks and responding to emergencies throughout Queensland.
The majority of LifeFlight critical care doctors’ work is performed on behalf of Queensland Health, tasked by Retrieval Services Queensland, within Queensland Ambulance Service.
