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The Old and the New Careflight's Bell 412 Was Delivered in December '94
Where Now for Careflight?
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Where Now For Careflight?
“Hello, NRMA CareFlight Emergency Line. How can I help you?”
With those words a number of actions take place and, more often than not, the NRMA CareFlight helicopter is tasked with another mission which will see a pilot, crewman, doctor, and paramedic calmly (except for a mad sprint across a playing field, if blood is required) configure the aircraft, check maps for the best route, then lift off from the dolly at the back of Sydney’s Westmead Hospital. Recent announcements, however, from the NSW Health Department cast doubt on CareFlight’s continued operation in its current form. More on that later.
CareFlight, now in its tenth year, is a breakaway from the older Westpac Lifesaver operation. Recognising that Sydney’s demographic centre was moving to the west and north, chief executive Ian Badham and chief pilot John Hoad saw a need for an airborne medevac service for the region. By May 1986 agreement in principle had been reached and, in a graphic demonstration of “where there’s a will, there’s a way”, CareFlight commenced operations in early July that year. In fact, by the time of the official opening in September 1986, CareFlight had already completed some 40 missions.
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