QSuper members step into the shoes of the RFDS at their local Queensland base
06 April 2021
5
min read
Those living and working in rural Queensland know that in the face of an emergency, the Royal Flying Doctor Service (RFDS) is ready to respond at a moment’s notice.
Providing urgent medical care to those in the most remote communities in Queensland for more than nine decades, the RFDS (Queensland Section) has touched countless lives.
Recently we offered members the opportunity to win a tour of their regional RFDS base. Many had inspiring tales to tell, including two of the three successful entrants who are returning to the bases where they were dispatched to receive urgent medical care.
Over the past two years, QSuper has helped to amplify the important work of RFDS, with both organisations committed to supporting the wellbeing of Queensland’s healthcare sector and the community.
Offering the opportunity to tour their local RFDS base, we asked members to tell us, in 100 words or less, what a visit to a RFDS base would mean to them.
We were overwhelmed with nominations detailing the many ways in which the RFDS have influenced or changed the lives of our members. But in the end, we could only choose three.
Here’s an insight into their stories.
Rockhampton base tour: Christine
Life-long Rockhampton resident and 68-year-old QSuper member, Christine, entered the competition with hopes of thanking the pilot and flight nurse who looked after her following a cardiac episode in late 2020.
With an intimate understanding of emergency services following her career in the defence force and the Queensland Police Service, Christine has a deep respect for the Flying Doctors and said services like the RFDS are a lifeline in her remote community.
"Everyone knows, if you get sick, you catch a plane south with the RFDS," Christine said.
Brisbane base tour: The Fry family
The young Fry family of three will be returning to the Brisbane RFDS Base, which received their son, now aged 14, in 2013 when he was experiencing a severe bout of the rare condition Henoch-Schönlein purpura.
Following intense internal bleeding, he required specialist knowledge and urgent medical care that couldn’t be provided at the local hospital. He was quickly transported with his mother to Brisbane by the RFDS.
I think just how calm, respectful and understanding RFDS are. When you are in [an emergency] you need nice people," mother Jodie told QSuper.
Townsville base tour: Stephen
Palliative care nurse and QSuper member, Stephen (pictured above, second from right), has plans of retiring at the end of this year, but not before seeing how the RFDS have served his community.
For the past decade, 64-year-old Stephen has been administering hospice care in Townsville.
The folks out here [in Townsville] are so resilient; they’ve had to be resilient because things aren’t on their doorstep," Stephen said.
"I’m just really, really grateful for this opportunity. I wrote in to QSuper thinking I didn’t have a hope, so it was a great surprise. Retirement has actually become possible for me thanks to the super I’ve accumulated with QSuper."
Congratulations to all the winners of the competition.
