Angel Flight, Rural Doctors Foundation partner to improve care access

Angel Flight has partnered with Rural Doctors Foundation to provide cost-effective air transportation enabling GPs to access hard-to-reach communities.

The partnership, via Angel Flight’s new Rural Medi-Flights service, follows the successful launch of the GPs4RuralDocs program aimed at supporting rural health practitioners to keep them living and working in the rural communities that need them.

Angel Flight has been flying doctors to rural and remote locations since late 2022 and officially launched the Rural Medi-Flights service in early 2024. Since then, the organisation has been busy flying medics across Queensland.

Angel Flight CEO Marjorie Pagani said, “From 2021–2022, we saw an 80% increase in demand for health practitioners requiring reliable, on-demand air transport to rural and remote areas.

“We are committing to improving healthcare access for rural people, and by providing reliable, on-demand air transport for health practitioners to and from the bush, we are contributing to a more sustainable healthcare model for rural communities.”

Dr John Douyere and the team from Rural Doctors Foundation said they would fly with Angel Flight from Archerfield to the outback towns of Quilpie and Charleville and be in these communities for a few days this month. They will also be visiting the towns of Stanthorpe, Goondiwindi and St George at the end of the month, with Dr John Buckley offering GP services for rural health practitioners.

The CEO of Rural Doctors Foundation, Fran Avon, said this partnership is vital to the future of the program, and to the current health crisis in rural Australia.

“Distance and isolation pose a huge challenge for rural health practitioners, and so what happens when they need a doctor and the closest one is over 300 km away? This is the problem we’re addressing and it’s why we’re passionate about providing this GP service for rural health practitioners in rural and remote towns,” she said.

“The more time we can spend in each of these towns, the more health practitioners our treating GP can see. To achieve this, a fly-in and fly-out model is the most efficient way to do it, which is why we’re thrilled to have Angel Flight on board.”

Amanda Roser, Chair of Rural Doctors Foundation, is excited to see the continuation of the GPs4RuralDocs program and its potential expansion for the future.

“We had amazing feedback from the previous clinics we held in Quilpie, Charleville and Cunnamulla. We know how much it means to the incredible health practitioners living and working in these communities — and we’re determined to continue supporting them as best we can.

“With support from organisations like Angel Flight, we hope to remove barriers to health care for medical practitioners by bringing care to them.”

Angel Flight Australia is a charitable organisation coordinating free, non-emergency flights and ground transportation so people who live in rural and regional Australia can access the specialist medical treatments they need.

Image credit: iStock.com/DurkTalsma