3700+ missions: LifeFlight Queensland finishes massive financial year efforts

From mid-air treatment to cliffside and ocean rescues, a Qld organisation which provides a vital lifeline across the state has completed one of its biggest financial years to date.

A critical service in Queensland’s rescue and emergency network has wrapped up one of its biggest years in its nearly 50-year history.

In the last financial year, LifeFlight crews from the Sunshine Coast flew 604 patients, contributing to a record year for the organisation of helping 8497 in total Queensland wide.

This surpasses last year’s total by 3.9 per cent, with patients helped by Sunshine Coast crews up by 0.6 per cent compared to the previous financial year.

The Sunshine Coast crew took on 1018 flight hours in the past year to attend a range of incidents, including paraglider and mountain hiker rescues.

This marked one of several milestones during LifeFlight’s 46th year in service, which included the addition of a new AW139 helicopter and the start of constructing a new $18.5m base on the Sunshine Coast.

The base is expected to be completed later in 2025.

Maverick Robbins who was rescued from a cliff at Rainbow Beach by the LifeFlight Helicopter after a paragliding accident.

Some of the most notable missions by the Sunshine Coast crew included the rescue of Gold Coast University student Maverick Robbins, who was saved by LifeFlight and the Queensland Fire Department after he crashed his paraglider in October last year.

Mr Robbins, dangling on the side of a sandy cliff at Rainbow Beach, caught his moment of impact and triple-0 call on his GoPro.

In January, LifeFlight’s Sunshine Coast crew winched a man who fell 20m down a Noosa cliff and, three months onwards, flew a gyrocopter pilot after he crashed at K’gari. 

LifeFlight Chief Operating Officer Lee Schofield, said the Sunshine Coast crew’s diverse range of missions was a testament to their “skill and dedication to the community”.

“The new base will bring a new era of aeromedical capability to the region and herald an exciting period for LifeFlight Sunshine Coast,” he said.

He noted the last financial year was the one of the most significant in the history of the not-for-profit organisation.

Mr Schofield said crews are called upon every hour to help distressed Queenslanders.

“It’s a mission our aeromedical crews carry out with great dedication with the goal of bringing equity in healthcare no matter where or when people need us,”

“My sincere thanks go to all LifeFlight’s staff for the incredible work they do.

“The team effort and co-ordination across all our work groups is key to providing the world class standard of care and ensuring equity of health care in regional communities.”

The organisation’s growth was made possible by community support, donors and philanthropy as well as government and new commercial partnerships, Mr Schofield said.

LifeFlight Medical Director Dr Jeff Hooper said aeromedical crews “perform complex procedures under immense pressure”.

The LifeFlight Sunshine Coast crew at the scene of a gyrocopter crash on K'gari. PHOTOS: LifeFlight

These can include stabilising patients' mid-air, rescuing people stranded in the ocean, or winching down to a hiker stranded on a chill

“Our aeromedical teams provide advanced care under extremely challenging circumstances, whether that is treating patients on scene after serious car crashes, stabilising patients' mid-air, rescuing people stranded in the ocean, or winching down a paramedic to hikers stranded on the side of a cliff face,” Dr Hooper said.

LifeFlight, operating from bases on the Sunshine Coast, Bundaberg, Mount Isa, Toowoomba, Roma, and Brisbane, took on 3,732 missions overall, equating 10.5 per cent higher than the previous financial year.

Flight hours also rose by 15 per cent to 5940 hours.

In 46 years of operation, LifeFlight helped more than 90,000 people.

Originally published as 3700+ missions: LifeFlight Queensland finishes massive financial year efforts