Angel Flight Australia seeking pilot and driver volunteers to assist country patients

An Australian charity helping rural and remote patients receive specialist medical treatment is seeking more volunteers to assist the organisation.

A volunteer pilot and a child on their way to receive treatment. Photo: Angel Flight Australia.

A charity aimed at helping country residents access specialist medical treatments for non-emergency care is seeking volunteer pilots and drivers to provide further care.

Angel Flight Australia delivers non-emergency flight and ground transportation to people who live in regional and rural communities for specialist medical treatment.

Media and partnerships officer Clarissa Wright told this publication the organisation needed more volunteer pilots and drivers to assist the charity as it had “made accessing healthcare possible” for rural patients.

“It’s [the service] absolutely invaluable,” Ms Wright said.

“It alleviates a huge amount of stress and anxiety that is already at a really tough time in their life.”

Clarissa Wright. Photo: Angel Flight Australia.

The charity has provided more than 60,000 free flights and assisted over 100,000 country families in accessing medical treatment not available to them because of distance or travel expenses.

Ms Wright said the organisation’s requirements for volunteer pilots were specific as they needed to own an aircraft, have certain hours and cover the operational costs of the aircraft.

Angel Flight volunteers have provided more than 60,000 free flights to remote patients. Picture: Liana Boss

She added the charity would reimburse the aircraft’s fuel costs.

Patients are flown from their town to an appropriate airport, escorted to a hospital or a specialised clinic by a driver, and then returned home.

“It makes the journey very seamless,” Ms Wright said.

“We’ve had people in very remote areas where they might be working on a farm or property and for them to take time off work or take kids out of school for an appointment is a lot, so this means they can get in and out in a day.”

Ms Wright said volunteers often left a “lasting impact” on the patients and the community.

Angel Flight’s chief executive officer Marjorie Pagani said the services prided itself on “providing a unique service that not only helps the person with health needs but the families whose lives are impacted”.

“The success of Angel Flight is due to the fact that our pilots gain enormous satisfaction from giving their skills and resources to help fellow rural Australians in need,” she said.

“It is their way of making a very personal contribution to the community in which they live.

“If pilots are interesting in volunteering, they should head to our website to read about the eligibility criteria before making an application or enquiry with us.”