Gold Coast-based Medical Rescue expands overseas as demand surges

Gold Coast-based Medical Rescue is expanding overseas, while continuing to recruit locally, to extend high-quality healthcare services globally in response to rising demand.

Australia’s leading international air ambulance service, Gold Coast-based Medical Rescue, is expanding overseas and recruiting locally as demand surges.

The aeronautical medical company was launched in 2010 by Glenn McKay, who as a doctor realised the need for a private sector medical service to remote areas.

It has since grown to employ 500 people specialising in remote medical clinics, ambulances, rescue helicopters, fixed-wing air ambulances and telemedicine support, servicing the Asia-Pacific region.

Based at Burleigh Heads, Medical Rescue reported significant growth after being recognised at the Premier of Queensland’s Export Awards.

Dr McKay, the company’s managing director, said the they had seen “tangible benefits and increased export opportunities” since winning the 2022 Professional Services category at the awards, before winning in the same category at the AustTrade National Awards.

Michael Smith and Glenn McKay of Medical Rescue. Picture: Supplied

He said despite the company winning various awards, the recognition for its exporting capabilities allowed Medical Rescue to stand out when presenting overseas.

“It’s actually been a tremendous win for us having been recognised here in Queensland and then also at the Australian awards,” Dr McKay said.

“We’ve also found that our working relationships with our colleagues at Austrade and Trade Investment Queensland has developed further and they’ve been helping us expand our export opportunities overseas.

“We’ve been able to outline our export strategies and they’ve subsequently gone to their offshore counterparts and identified connections for us, facilitated introductions and meetings, and collectively helped us to identify joint opportunities.

“So by the end of this financial year we’ll have new contracts as a direct result of those engagements.”

For Dr McKay and his team, having help understanding the countries they were taking their product to had been paramount.

“When you’re going to take your product overseas and export it, you need to know it really, really well and you need to back your decisions, back your product and be familiar with the markets you’re going into, the culture of where you’re going,” he said.

Medical Rescue staff Ashley Reid, Clayton Dragona and Robyn Munoz. Picture: Nigel Hallett

“Different countries do business differently to Australia, so I would encourage everybody that’s looking to export to get in contact with Trade Investment Queensland and Austrade and get every bit of help that they offer because they’re genuinely helpful and can grow your business by giving you the right advice and the right connections.”

As a professional service, Medical Rescue doesn’t fit the mould of traditional exporters.

“It’s a little bit different to most exporters because while many are manufacturing products that are being designed here in Queensland and delivering that offshore, we’re exporting knowledge, not necessarily a product,” Dr McKay said.

He emphasised their commitment to extending the quality of health care available in Queensland and Australia to countries where healthcare standards are still developing.

“We are going to hospitals that don’t have the facilities that we have here in Australia and we’re looking after people who have either become unwell or who are vulnerable overseas and bringing them back mostly to Australia for tertiary care” he said. “We are an extension of Queensland’s amazing healthcare system.”

Maintaining a high level of quality and expertise in ­remote medical clinics poses challenges for Medical ­Rescue.

To overcome this, the company employs strategies such as rotating personnel to other opportunities within the business, providing career progression, and offering extra training to keep staff engaged.

Medical Rescue in Burleigh Heads. Picture: Nigel Hallett

Centralised equipment maintenance and standardised clinical policies and procedures further ensure a consistent standard of care.

Medical Rescue’s contribution to Queensland’s growing economy lies in the employment opportunities it offers locally.

The company is continuously expanding and actively seeking new staff members, including communications officers, case managers, nurses, paramedics and pilots.

By centralising operations and keeping the majority of their workforce in South East Queensland, Medical Rescue aims to contribute to the local economy while efficiently managing their global operations.

“I’m really proud of how the company has grown over the last 10 years and how my team has embraced what we do,” Dr McKay said. “What we do here on the Gold Coast really matters to people we will never meet. You can’t leave anyone behind. You can’t make a mistake with what we do. And we will never meet the patients that we look after unless you’re the pilot or medical team.”

Medical Rescue has ambitious plans for the year ahead with its aeromedical footprint set to expand globally.

“We have some really exciting growth this year and I attribute part of that success to winning this award,” Dr McKay said.

“We’re opening new hubs in Jordan, Turkey, Dubai Tire, Bangkok and Dallas, Texas.

“This is all very new for us, we’ve never opened facilities offshore and we’re in the process now of hiring flight nurses in all of those cities.”

Finalists for the 2023 Premier of Queensland’s Export Awards will be announced in coming weeks. Visit tiq.qld.gov.au