Every two minutes, someone needs the Royal Flying Doctor Service.
For 95 years, the Royal Flying Doctor Service has provided a crucial mantle of safety for people living in regional, rural and remote areas. Whether it’s a life-threatening injury, an inter-hospital transfer, or to see a GP, dentist or mental health clinician, the Flying Doctor provides the finest standard of care to every Australian who needs us.
65
Primary health care clinics delivered every day across Australia, providing medical care, immunisations, health education, mental health and dental health care services.
112,839
Australians are flown each year by our expert aeromedical teams.
2,370
Medical chests located across rural and remote Australia, supported by 24/7 telehealth services and emergency evacuations.
Our stories
The Royal Flying Doctor Service brings emergency medical and primary health services to regional, rural and remote communities, many of whom don't have any other healthcare access. We make it possible for people to live, work and travel across this large, harsh, unique, and beautiful country.
Flying Doctor Celebrates 94th Birthday
The Royal Flying Doctor Service - celebrates its 94th birthday with being awarded by Reader's Digest as Australia's most trusted charity for 2022.
Rural Mum's Rare Scare
Pregnant with her second child, Anna Nunn was busy working on a remote outback station when she received a distressing diagnosis.
Flying Doctor Memory Lane makes one final ANZAC Day dawn service possible
The Australian army has always meant a great deal to Ray Buckley. As an 18-year-old, Ray completed seven years of National Service with the Citizen Military Forces, and was on constant standby for war. In the years that followed, he became a steadfast presence at Horsham’s ANZAC Day dawn service, even enacting ceremonial roles in full military uniform. Every dawn service has been important to Ray, but this past service held extra special meaning for him and his family, as it was to be Ray’s last.
In early March, Ray went to visit his doctor after experiencing intense back pain. A few tests later, Ray and his family received a heartbreaking diagnosis: Ray had an aggressive and rapidly growing cancer on his spine. He was given six weeks to live.
As his condition deteriorated, Ray was moved into palliative care at Wimmera Base Hospital, but he held onto hope that he would somehow still be able to attend one final dawn service. Upon hearing this, Grampians Health palliative nurse Nicole Miller contacted the team at Flying Doctor Memory Lane...
RFDS helps deliver first baby born in Richmond in 15 years
Jess Harvey was 35 weeks pregnant when she awoke in the middle of the night with contractions.
The only problem was, she was at home on a remote station two hours from Richmond — the nearest town — more than 500 kilometres from her nearest tertiary hospital, and 270 kilometres away from her partner Sam, who was at a mustering camp.
Live Flight Map
The Royal Flying Doctor Service has 79 aircraft that cover the length and breadth of the country delivering aeromedical services. This map shows the fleet of RFDS aircraft that are currently in the air, providing vital services across Australia.
The Royal Flying Doctor Service travels far and wide to offer 24/7 aeromedical retrieval. But to create better health outcomes, we’ve gone even further.
Today, more than 50% of our daily operations are dedicated to extensive primary healthcare services, including dental, mental health, and healthcare education.
23 Air Bases, 65 clinics held every day. 2,370 medical chests located in rural and remote locations, supported by 24/7 telehealth services. Thanks to you we can address the healthcare disparity between the city and the bush and improve health outcomes.
