❓ The WA government announces funding for a dedicated 24/7 medical helicopter rescue service, addressing a gap highlighted by a recent fatality and aiming to improve emergency response times, particularly for road accidents within 200km of Perth.
AnsweredQoN 979Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
HELICOPTER RESCUE SERVICE
Will the minister inform the House about the latest initiative the Government is undertaking in emergency services and road safety? Mrs ROBERTS
Will the minister inform the House about the latest initiative the Government is undertaking in emergency services and road safety? Mrs ROBERTS
AnswerView source ↗
I thank the member for Perth for his question. For the first time in our State’s history, the Government will fund the operation of a dedicated 24-hour a day, year-round medical helicopter rescue service. The gap in rescue services was highlighted by the death of a man in Lancelin last July. It is clear from recent road accidents involving road trains that this new service will provide a road safety benefit because it will enable people to be delivered to hospital much quicker than if they were transported by ambulance. I note that only a couple of weeks ago, a young girl had to be airlifted from a road-train accident to Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital, from where she was transferred to Princess Margaret Hospital for Children. This service will operate in an area of up to about 200 kilometres from Perth and is expected to perform up to 110 missions a year. The new service will therefore cover about 90 per cent of the State’s population. In Western Australia, 89 per cent of the population lives within a 200-kilometre radius of Perth. The Royal Flying Doctor Service provides a very good service from beyond the 200-kilometre mark. The Government believes that the cost of this service will be in the order of $3.5 million, and it is prepared to fund up to that amount. During recent months, some interesting offers have been put on the table. However, it is not appropriate to enter into a sponsorship arrangement without tendering, as has occurred in the past. We want to put the service out for tender and have an appropriate arrangement that will last into the future. The new service will complement our police helicopter service and ensure that the State can respond to any emergency situation that arises. Members opposite should take note that this is another community initiative on which this Labor Government has delivered. The Government has responded to the community rather than provide hollow promises as did the previous Government. I thank the members for Kalgoorlie and Warren-Blackwood for their support of the initiative as illustrated today in their words of praise.
Mrs ROBERTS replied: I thank the member for Perth for his question. For the first time in our State’s history, the Government will fund the operation of a dedicated 24-hour a day, year-round medical helicopter rescue service. The gap in rescue services was highlighted by the death of a man in Lancelin last July. It is clear from recent road accidents involving road trains that this new service will provide a road safety benefit because it will enable people to be delivered to hospital much quicker than if they were transported by ambulance. I note that only a couple of weeks ago, a young girl had to be airlifted from a road-train accident to Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital, from where she was transferred to Princess Margaret Hospital for Children. This service will operate in an area of up to about 200 kilometres from Perth and is expected to perform up to 110 missions a year. The new service will therefore cover about 90 per cent of the State’s population. In Western Australia, 89 per cent of the population lives within a 200-kilometre radius of Perth. The Royal Flying Doctor Service provides a very good service from beyond the 200-kilometre mark. The Government believes that the cost of this service will be in the order of $3.5 million, and it is prepared to fund up to that amount. During recent months, some interesting offers have been put on the table. However, it is not appropriate to enter into a sponsorship arrangement without tendering, as has occurred in the past. We want to put the service out for tender and have an appropriate arrangement that will last into the future. The new service will complement our police helicopter service and ensure that the State can respond to any emergency situation that arises. Members opposite should take note that this is another community initiative on which this Labor Government has delivered. The Government has responded to the community rather than provide hollow promises as did the previous Government. I thank the members for Kalgoorlie and Warren-Blackwood for their support of the initiative as illustrated today in their words of praise.
I thank the member for Perth for his question. For the first time in our State’s history, the Government will fund the operation of a dedicated 24-hour a day, year-round medical helicopter rescue service. The gap in rescue services was highlighted by the death of a man in Lancelin last July. It is clear from recent road accidents involving road trains that this new service will provide a road safety benefit because it will enable people to be delivered to hospital much quicker than if they were transported by ambulance. I note that only a couple of weeks ago, a young girl had to be airlifted from a road-train accident to Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital, from where she was transferred to Princess Margaret Hospital for Children. This service will operate in an area of up to about 200 kilometres from Perth and is expected to perform up to 110 missions a year. The new service will therefore cover about 90 per cent of the State’s population. In Western Australia, 89 per cent of the population lives within a 200-kilometre radius of Perth. The Royal Flying Doctor Service provides a very good service from beyond the 200-kilometre mark. The Government believes that the cost of this service will be in the order of $3.5 million, and it is prepared to fund up to that amount. During recent months, some interesting offers have been put on the table. However, it is not appropriate to enter into a sponsorship arrangement without tendering, as has occurred in the past. We want to put the service out for tender and have an appropriate arrangement that will last into the future. The new service will complement our police helicopter service and ensure that the State can respond to any emergency situation that arises. Members opposite should take note that this is another community initiative on which this Labor Government has delivered. The Government has responded to the community rather than provide hollow promises as did the previous Government. I thank the members for Kalgoorlie and Warren-Blackwood for their support of the initiative as illustrated today in their words of praise.
The Government believes that the cost of this service will be in the order of $3.5 million, and it is prepared to fund up to that amount. During recent months, some interesting offers have been put on the table. However, it is not appropriate to enter into a sponsorship arrangement without tendering, as has occurred in the past. We want to put the service out for tender and have an appropriate arrangement that will last into the future. The new service will complement our police helicopter service and ensure that the State can respond to any emergency situation that arises. Members opposite should take note that this is another community initiative on which this Labor Government has delivered. The Government has responded to the community rather than provide hollow promises as did the previous Government. I thank the members for Kalgoorlie and Warren-Blackwood for their support of the initiative as illustrated today in their words of praise.
The new service will complement our police helicopter service and ensure that the State can respond to any emergency situation that arises. Members opposite should take note that this is another community initiative on which this Labor Government has delivered. The Government has responded to the community rather than provide hollow promises as did the previous Government. I thank the members for Kalgoorlie and Warren-Blackwood for their support of the initiative as illustrated today in their words of praise.
Mrs ROBERTS replied: I thank the member for Perth for his question. For the first time in our State’s history, the Government will fund the operation of a dedicated 24-hour a day, year-round medical helicopter rescue service. The gap in rescue services was highlighted by the death of a man in Lancelin last July. It is clear from recent road accidents involving road trains that this new service will provide a road safety benefit because it will enable people to be delivered to hospital much quicker than if they were transported by ambulance. I note that only a couple of weeks ago, a young girl had to be airlifted from a road-train accident to Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital, from where she was transferred to Princess Margaret Hospital for Children. This service will operate in an area of up to about 200 kilometres from Perth and is expected to perform up to 110 missions a year. The new service will therefore cover about 90 per cent of the State’s population. In Western Australia, 89 per cent of the population lives within a 200-kilometre radius of Perth. The Royal Flying Doctor Service provides a very good service from beyond the 200-kilometre mark. The Government believes that the cost of this service will be in the order of $3.5 million, and it is prepared to fund up to that amount. During recent months, some interesting offers have been put on the table. However, it is not appropriate to enter into a sponsorship arrangement without tendering, as has occurred in the past. We want to put the service out for tender and have an appropriate arrangement that will last into the future. The new service will complement our police helicopter service and ensure that the State can respond to any emergency situation that arises. Members opposite should take note that this is another community initiative on which this Labor Government has delivered. The Government has responded to the community rather than provide hollow promises as did the previous Government. I thank the members for Kalgoorlie and Warren-Blackwood for their support of the initiative as illustrated today in their words of praise.
I thank the member for Perth for his question. For the first time in our State’s history, the Government will fund the operation of a dedicated 24-hour a day, year-round medical helicopter rescue service. The gap in rescue services was highlighted by the death of a man in Lancelin last July. It is clear from recent road accidents involving road trains that this new service will provide a road safety benefit because it will enable people to be delivered to hospital much quicker than if they were transported by ambulance. I note that only a couple of weeks ago, a young girl had to be airlifted from a road-train accident to Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital, from where she was transferred to Princess Margaret Hospital for Children. This service will operate in an area of up to about 200 kilometres from Perth and is expected to perform up to 110 missions a year. The new service will therefore cover about 90 per cent of the State’s population. In Western Australia, 89 per cent of the population lives within a 200-kilometre radius of Perth. The Royal Flying Doctor Service provides a very good service from beyond the 200-kilometre mark. The Government believes that the cost of this service will be in the order of $3.5 million, and it is prepared to fund up to that amount. During recent months, some interesting offers have been put on the table. However, it is not appropriate to enter into a sponsorship arrangement without tendering, as has occurred in the past. We want to put the service out for tender and have an appropriate arrangement that will last into the future. The new service will complement our police helicopter service and ensure that the State can respond to any emergency situation that arises. Members opposite should take note that this is another community initiative on which this Labor Government has delivered. The Government has responded to the community rather than provide hollow promises as did the previous Government. I thank the members for Kalgoorlie and Warren-Blackwood for their support of the initiative as illustrated today in their words of praise.
The Government believes that the cost of this service will be in the order of $3.5 million, and it is prepared to fund up to that amount. During recent months, some interesting offers have been put on the table. However, it is not appropriate to enter into a sponsorship arrangement without tendering, as has occurred in the past. We want to put the service out for tender and have an appropriate arrangement that will last into the future. The new service will complement our police helicopter service and ensure that the State can respond to any emergency situation that arises. Members opposite should take note that this is another community initiative on which this Labor Government has delivered. The Government has responded to the community rather than provide hollow promises as did the previous Government. I thank the members for Kalgoorlie and Warren-Blackwood for their support of the initiative as illustrated today in their words of praise.
The new service will complement our police helicopter service and ensure that the State can respond to any emergency situation that arises. Members opposite should take note that this is another community initiative on which this Labor Government has delivered. The Government has responded to the community rather than provide hollow promises as did the previous Government. I thank the members for Kalgoorlie and Warren-Blackwood for their support of the initiative as illustrated today in their words of praise.
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