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Aeromedical services in Australia: a vision shared

Peter Aitken
Med J Aust 2019; 211 (8): . || doi: 10.5694/mja2.50364
Published online: 21 October 2019

Greater coordination is needed to shift from a “mantle of safety” to providing adequate health care for rural and remote Australians

The original vision of John Flynn when he established the precursor of the Royal Flying Doctor Service (RFDS) in 1928 was to provide a “mantle of safety” for rural Australia. While aeromedical retrieval has evolved considerably in the meantime, with advances in aviation, communications and medical interventions, people who live in rural areas of Australia still have lower access to health services and poorer health outcomes than their urban counterparts.1


  • 1 Health Disaster Management Unit, Queensland Health, Brisbane, QLD
  • 2 Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, QLD



Competing interests:

No relevant disclosures.

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