Dig Deep To Keep Docs Flying High

The Age

Wednesday October 4, 1995

Pollyanna Sutton

WHEN the first Flying Doctor took to the air over Cloncurry in 1928 it marked the beginning of a service that remains uniquely Australian.

For 65 years, the Royal Flying Doctor Service of Australia has offered a free air medical service to people in the outback and, in keeping with John Flynn's original vision, it is paid for by the people of Australia.

Although 70 per cent of funding comes from State and Federal Governments, the remaining 30 per cent is from public donation.

To keep the planes flying, Australians will be asked to dig deep for the Royal Flying Doctor Service ABC Airwaves Appeal.

From 6am Saturday to midnight Sunday, the ABC will broadcast programs with a Royal Flying Doctor Service flavor. There will be live crosses to people in the outback and conversations with people who have been involved with the service. Listeners can make a donation on a toll-free number that will be announced all weekend.

The calls will be taken in a national tally room, but all donations will be passed on to the relevant state sections.

The assistant manager and fundraising manager for the Victorian section of the service, Mr Wilson Barr, said the RFDS was the third-largest airline in the country, with a fleet of 39 aircraft.

``Each year it handles 155,000 patients, which is five times as many as the Royal Melbourne Hospital, and travels 8 million kilometres," he said. ``It is not just for outback people but also the 2.5 million tourists who visit the outback each year. For example, of 36 people who died in 4WD vehicles last year, 33 were Victorians."

Until recently, Victoria operated its Flying Doctor Service in the remote Kimberley of north-west Australia.

The original charter was to provide a service to people who were more than 50 miles from a doctor. Victoria, with its spread of rural towns and cities, was well catered for.

In July this year, the three regions in Western Australia amalgamated to cut operational costs and increase efficiency.

Victorian money will now be spent on the Western Australain region.

Mr Barr said the national target for the appeal this year was $840,000, with $150,000 expected to be raised in Victoria.

© 1995 The Age

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