Toowoomba’s LifeFlight base marks 15 years in operation

In the past 15 years, LifeFlight has flown thousands of missions and saved countless Queenslanders who were sick or injured. All of this would not be possible without support and donations from the community.

Stanley Paynter (centre) inspects the modern LifeFlight rescue choppers, flanked by LifeFlight Foundation Board director Mike Stewart and LifeFlight air crew officer Mark Arthur.

STANLEY Paynter was in a bad way after a workplace accident in 2001.

He was pinned between a truck and an irrigation pipe at Jandowae and had suffered a spinal injury, a cracked hip and a broken pelvis.

Without the help of a LifeFlight crew, his injuries and recovery could have been much worse.

“What was not known at the time was that I had torn arteries internally,” he said.

“When the LifeFlight team turned up it was like the SWAT crew turning up, they were in control and I felt myself relaxing, thinking ‘These guys have got it’.

“It’s been 20 years since the incident, and I’m happily married, I have three awesome children, and although I still have pain in my hip and some issues with movement, I wouldn’t be here without RACQ LifeFlight Rescue,” he said.

Celebrating 15 years of LifeFlight in Toowoomba are (from left) chair of the Toowoomba Regional Advisory Committee Gus Romero, former LifeFlight patient Stanley Paynter, LifeFlight Foundation Board director Mike Stewart and LifeFlight air crew officer Mark Arthur.

It was cases like Mr Paynter’s that led to a permanent LifeFlight base in Toowoomba, to service Southwest Queensland.

On Wednesday the base marked 15 years in operation.

In that time it has flown thousands of missions responding to traffic crashes, farm injuries and medical transfers.

All of this good work is paid for through donations from community groups, individuals, business and the service’s grateful patients.

In 2011, LifeFlight saw another milestone reached in Toowoomba with the establishment of the LifeFlight Surat Gas Aeromedical Service – created by four organisations: Arrow Energy, Origin Energy, Queensland Gas Company, and Santos.

The venture aimed to minimise the impact on local medical services and ensure mining employees, their families and community members in South West Queensland had access to prompt emergency medical services.

The Toowoomba-based LifeFlight crew's first rescue operation.

In 2018, Toowoomba’s helicopter missions were deployed from a new base, called the Clive Berghofer LifeFlight Centre. Long-term supporter of LifeFlight, Clive Berghofer, made the upgraded base possible by contributing $2 million to the development – matching $2 million of funding from the Federal Government.

The multimillion-dollar, purpose-built facility features on-site accommodation for crews for 24/7 operations, a purpose-built workshop for engineering activities, administration and other staff facilities.

It bridges the medical gap between rural and metropolitan Queensland.

Today it houses two AW139 helicopters, delivering critical care to Queenslanders from across the Southwest.

The helicopters are faster and fully equipped with the equivalent of an intensive care unit, allowing medical crews to administer the highest level of pre-hospital patient care in-flight. The reduced flying time also means patients are connected to advanced specialist care in major hospitals across Queensland sooner than ever before.