Rowan Ramsey (Grey, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Last Friday night I had the great privilege of attending the 90-year celebration of the Royal Flying Doctor Service in Port Augusta at their hangar at the Port Augusta base. There was great support from the community. There were hundreds of people crammed in the hangar. We had a great meal and a wonderful celebration. It was also a chance to mark the imminent retirement of John Lynch. He has been the Central Operations CEO for the last 18 years. He has been there for 32 years. When John commenced as the CEO 18 years ago, Central Operations assisted over 38,000 patients every year, including 6,000 aeromedical evacuations, and operated 10 medically-equipped aircraft across three aeromedical bases. Today the organisation conducts over 50,000 patient contacts per annum, including 9,000 aeromedical evacuations, and operates a fleet of 18 medically-equipped Pilatus PC12 aircraft across four aeromedical bases and manages three remote primary healthcare facilities in outback SA.

We would be in very dire straits without the Royal Flying Doctor Service. Many of us have benefited from its services. They have not saved my life, but they may have saved my finger when they rushed me to Adelaide after a little accident. I say well done to John, well done to them and well done to all those who turned out in support at that celebration last Friday night.