Toowoomba’s LifeFlight aeromedical crews airlifted more people following animal-related accidents than any other base in 2024, new data released this week reveals.
Toowoomba, home to two rescue helicopters, helped 905 people over the 12-month period, again cementing its status as the busiest regional base in the LifeFlight network.
The two crews, including one LifeFlight Surat Gas Aeromedical Service helicopter, flew 936 missions including 42 for motor vehicle crashes and eight search and rescues.
Meanwhile, the Roma SGAS helicopter, based at the Lee Family and Australian Country Choice LifeFlight Centre, helped 59 people in 2024.
The SGAS partners generously donate 150 flying hours each year to assure the Toowoomba and Roma communities of aeromedical coverage.
Statistics released this week shows the Toowoomba and SGAS crews contributed to a record year for LifeFlight, with 8,477 people helped over the course of the 12 months.
The figure was 13 per cent higher than 2023 and more than any other year in the not-for-profit’s history.
Animal-related injuries featured prominently in Toowoomba and Roma, including a teenager trampled by a horse during a polocrosse match, Kasey Leadbetter who was bitten by an eastern brown snake while she was sleeping, and a man thrown from a horse while chasing a steer.
LifeFlight Chief Operating Officer Lee Schofield, said the Toowoomba and Roma crews attended a highly diverse range of emergencies in 2024.
“Our aeromedical crews can be tasked to everything from motor vehicle crashes, farming accidents to search and rescues, all in the one day,” Mr Schofield said.
“It is why our crews are trained to handle all eventualities and are adept at handling complex missions.
“Queensland’s strong population growth combined with our expanded capabilities mean we are called on more to help Queenslanders whenever and wherever we are needed.
“It is why we are investing in new training programs, AW139 helicopters and bases in the regions where we operate.”
He said this year LifeFlight would also expand its free First Minutes Matter trauma training workshops across the state.
“This is an important step in improving community resilience, especially at a time when the number of patients needing help grows year on year,” Mr Schofield said.
LifeFlight Chief Medical Officer Dr Allan MacKillop, said aeromedical crews were ready to help with a vast range of medical emergencies in some of the remotest parts of the state.
“Our medical staff undergo intensive aeromedical training at the LifeFlight Training Academy, including Helicopter Underwater Escape Training (HUET), rescue winching and clinical scenario training, so they are ready for any eventuality,” Dr MacKillop said.
“They can be called out to administer emergency medicine under the most trying circumstances, such as wild weather, or the aftermath of a multi vehicle accident.
“It is why our helicopters are fitted out as mobile intensive care units with specially designed medical equipment for life-saving care, whether that is operating 35,000 feet above the ground in a Challenger jet or in the back of a helicopter.
“This aeromedical intervention is critical, significantly increasing a patient’s chance of survival, so it is vitally important.”
LifeFlight’s helicopter crews, operating from bases in Sunshine Coast, Bundaberg, Mount Isa, Toowoomba, Roma, and Brisbane, clocked up 3,534 missions in 2024, which included airlifting injured motorists, patients with cardiac problems, seafarers, hikers, and farmers injured by animals.
The number of missions was 24 per cent higher than 2023 while flight hours also increased by 20 per cent to 5,551.
As in previous years, much of LifeFlight’s aeromedical work involved Inter-Facility Transfers (IFT) or moving patients between medical facilities. This ensures all communities have equal access to the best possible healthcare, no matter where they live.
LifeFlight has helped more than 90,000 people since first taking to the skies in 1979.
2024 HIGHLIGHTS:
- January – Woman airlifted after snake bites her in bed. Kasey Leadbetter was airlifted to hospital after she was bitten on her hand by a snake while she was sleeping in bed.
- February – Seriously injured woman airlifted after bus collision. The woman was airlifted after she was injured in a collision between a bus and car she was driving in the Somerset region.
- March – Man airlifted by LifeFlight after falling from horse while chasing steer. He was airlifted from the Maranoa region by the Toowoomba SGAS helicopter crew.
- May – Woman winched from steep terrain in Scenic Rim. The Roma-based Surat Gas Aeromedical Service (SGAS) helicopter crew winched a woman to safety in the Scenic Rim region after she became lost in steep terrain.
- June – LifeFlight SGAS airlifts teenager after horse trample. The girl fell from a horse during a polocrosse match and was trampled as she lay on the ground.
- June – Boy airlifted to hospital with neck injury. The boy was travelling in a ute on a private property in the Western Downs region with his father when the vehicle hit a bump in the road and the boy’s neck got caught on a meat hook.
- August – Hiker rescue-winched from mountain after falling. The hiker, aged in his 70s, was descending a walking trail in Main Range National Park when he had a medical episode.
- September – LifeFlight airlifts elderly woman after horse fall. The rescue chopper was tasked to the Somerset region after the woman, aged in her 80s, fell while riding.
- September – LifeFlight winches bushwalker with medical condition. The Roma-based LifeFlight Surat Gas Aeromedical Service (SGAS) aeromedical crew airlifted a bushwalker to hospital he suffered a cardiac condition in the Maranoa region.
- December – Mum and son reunite with the doctor who saved her life. LifeFlight critical care doctor Chris Jarvis needed to give Jacqui Rich almost two litres of blood on the helicopter flight from Wandoan to Toowoomba Hospital after she ruptured her spleen.
