Medical Rescue based at Varsity Lakes on Gold Coast wins $35M contract to provide support services to Snowy 2.0 project
A Gold Coast medical evacuation company has won a major $35M project to provide medical support services to Australia’s largest renewable energy project.
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A GOLD Coast medical evacuation company is recruiting doctors and nurses to work on the Snowy 2.0 project after beating major companies to win a $35 million contract.
Varsity Lakes-based Medical Rescue, led by managing director Dr Glenn McKay, will provide two 24-hour medical centres, five ambulances and 24 staff – including paramedics, nurses and doctors – over a six-year period.
The staff are set to start in September and October, and will provide general and emergency medical services to the 2000 workers for Australia’s largest renewable energy project in the Snowy Mountains region of NSW.
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The project involves linking two existing dams, Tantangara and Talbingo, through 27km of tunnels as well as building a new underground power station. The medical centres will be at either end of the tunnel.
Dr McKay said Medical Rescue’s extensive experience in providing medical support to ski fields in New Zealand and Australia helped it win the contract.
“We are one of the only (medical) companies experienced at working above the snow line,” he said.
“So this was definitely an environment that we are very familiar with.
“But it is new in that it is looking after a remotely located workforce.”
The company is a subcontractor to Snowy 2.0 builder Future Generation Joint Venture. It bought the five ambulances from the Varley Group, based at Narangba.
Dr McKay said Medical Rescue had recruited about two thirds of the staff it needed for the project and would have to put on additional administration staff at its Varsity Lakes base.
Medical Rescue has 150 staff and provides evacuation services for people stranded overseas through its fleet of two fixed-wing air ambulances and helicopters.
Dr McKay said the company had been exceptionally busy through the COVID-19 pandemic, flying people from countries in the Asia-Pacific region home to Australia.
“There was no commercial option so they were needing the air ambulance.”
He said Medical Rescue had also assisted the Japanese Government to repatriate citizens from Pacific island countries.
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