LifeFlight specialist braves incredible move from virus-stricken Europe

One of the region’s newest critical care specialists has shared the way she moved her whole life from the Netherlands to Toowoomba, battling a global pandemic and hotel quarantine.

Critical care specialist Dr Yvette van de Riet rehomed her beloved cat, flew across the world and endured hotel quarantine, just in time to start LifeFlight's world renowned aeromedical training program.

Critical Care specialist Dr Yvette van de Riet has travelled the world living her dream, and saving lives.

From the Netherlands to Tanzania to the Dutch Caribbean and now to Toowoomba, Dr van de Riet has joined the team of LifeFlight’s critical care doctors to help save lives across the south-west.

The specialist battled a global pandemic, hotel quarantine, and a full day of flying to begin crucial work in Toowoomba with one of the busiest LifeFlight bases in the country.

“I didn’t know if I was going to make it here, with COVID-19 changing things so quickly there was always something new coming through to make us worried, but it all went fine,” Dr van de Riet said.

Days after coming out of two weeks of hotel quarantine she was thrown into the deep end and immersed in aviation training, learning how to treat and winch patients all in the confines of a helicopter cabin.

In a first for the aeromedical service, the Retrieval Registrars performed their aviation and winch training on the new Land Rover LifeFlight Special Mission helicopter.

A key part of LifeFlight training also involves the doctors learning how to save their own lives, in the unlikely event of a helicopter crashing into water through Helicopter Underwater Escape Training.

“It’s highly unlikely an aircraft will crash in the water, whether that’s an ocean, lake or dam, but these doctors need to know how to mentally and physically orientate themselves while under water, in the event that it does happen,” LifeFlight Training Academy sea survival instructor Jenevieve Peacock said.

The trainees were literally thrown in the deep end, during Helicopter Underwater Escape Training.

This enabled the special mission helicopter crew to be ready to go above and beyond, by further refining their skills and continuing their training regimen, while allowing the fleet of RACQ LifeFlight Rescue community helicopters to remain online and available for lifesaving missions.

The majority of the RACQ LifeFlight Rescue critical care doctors’ work is performed on behalf of Queensland Health, under a 10-year service agreement.