Project Report

'COVID on Country': an innovative model safely supporting high-risk patients in Central Australia

AUTHORS

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Mardi Steere
1 FAAP, FACEP, FRACP, Executive General Manager Medical and Retrieval Services RFDS, Associate Professor Charles Darwin University

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Samuel Goodwin
2 Executive Director Medical Services

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Fergus W Gardiner
3 PhD, Director National RFDS COVID-19 Response

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Debra Gray
4 General Manager Pandemic Response

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David Carpenter
5 Flight Nurse Manager

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Anthony Pryzibilla
6 BSc (Hons), Operations Manager

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Simon Quilty
7 FRACP, Senior Lecturer and PhD Candidate * ORCID logo

AFFILIATIONS

1 Royal Flying Doctor Service, RFDS Central Operations, 1 Tower Road, Adelaide, SA 5950, Australia; and Menzies School of Medicine, Charles Darwin University, Ellengowan Drive, Brinkin, NT 0909, Australia

2, 5, 6 Royal Flying Doctor Service, RFDS Central Operations, 1 Tower Road, Adelaide, SA 5950, Australia

3 Royal Flying Doctor Service Australia, Level 2, 10-12 Brisbane Avenue, Barton ACT 2600; and National Centre of Epidemiology and Population Health, Australian National University, Mills St, Canberra, ACT 2601, Australia

4 Alice Springs Hospital, 6 Gap Rd, Alice Springs, NT 0870, Australia

7 National Centre of Epidemiology and Population Health, Australian National University, Mills St, Canberra, ACT 2601, Australia

ACCEPTED: 26 August 2022


early abstract:

Context: Central Australia encompasses a vast landmass consisting of multiple very remote communities. Remote living people place high value of receiving treatment closer to home.
Issues: When the COVID pandemic arrived in Central Australia in early 2022, there was extreme pressure placed on aeromedical retrieval and acute healthcare service capacity.
Lessons Learned: With a carefully executed approach to resource allocation and service delivery location, we have demonstrated a safe and effective way of risk stratifying patients and providing safe and effective provision of acute care on country, saving resources and providing services in a culturally appropriate paradigm.