What the Tasmanian Liberals will do:

Enter into a strategic partnership with the Royal Flying Doctor Service to provide certainty for the RFDS, upgrade to two planes, and introduce “flying clinics” to remote areas of Tasmania.

What the Liberals will do:
The Royal Flying Doctor Service is a much‐loved and respected Australian icon, which has been delivering health and air ambulance services to people in rural and remote parts of the nation since 1928.

The RFDS in Tasmania operates from a modern hangar and operations centre at the Launceston Airport from which it services remote areas of Tasmania and the Bass Strait Islands. In 2007, the RFDS in Tasmania flew 427,816 kms and conducted 986 hospital transfers.

A Hodgman Liberal Government will safeguard the future and guarantee Launceston remains the home of the Royal Flying Doctor Service in Tasmania.

The Tasmanian Liberals will enter into a strategic and capital‐sharing partnership with the RFDS – a not‐for‐profit organization – and the Australian Government which will ensure the delivery of fixed wing aeromedical retrieval services, upgrade to a two aircraft service, deliver new “flying clinics” to remote areas of the State, and provide certainty for the RFDS with a non‐contestable contract.

The partnership will have many benefits for the Tasmanian community, including –

• The introduction of a new aeromedically equipped King Air B200C in 2011 for use primarily on the current ambulance contract which provides interhospital transfers and emergency retrievals;
• Retention of the existing fixed wing aircraft in Tasmania as a back‐up for scheduled maintenance, with the opportunity to provide additional service delivery on an agreed basis, including Statewide rolling “flying clinics” to regularly service the more remote areas of Tasmania and islands and additional after hours work – not provided for in the current contract;
• This “flying clinic” plane will be available to provide enhanced specialist services to Tasmanians living in areas such as the West Coast, East Coast, Bass Strait Islands and far North‐West Coast.
• With renegotiation of the current contract prior to its expiry in July 2011, the RFDS will provide a second‐hand “flying clinic” plane when required until the new King Air B200C is delivered in 2011;
• The capital savings to the Tasmanian community and Government would be in excess of $6.8 million over the equivalent term of a contested contract over 10 years (which would lease a brand new aircraft into the contract);
• Substantial operating expense savings will be achieved by economies of scale by running two aircraft, an open book policy by the RFDS for the Government to examine all financials and a guarantee to return any surplus profits from the Tasmanian operation to the State – estimated at $823,000 per annum over the current contract rates;
• An annual hourly flying rate reduction of approximately $25,000;
• Day to day financial management of the tripartite funding agreement and its associated costs will be borne by the RFDS;
• Retention of current $4.4 million (over four years) of Commonwealth funds facilitated by the RFDS and provided to the Tasmanian Health Department for primary health services to the Bass Strait Islands. It should be noted that the loss of the RFDS service in Tasmania would result in a loss of these funds;
• Retention of more than $1 million in infrastructure invested by the RFDS in Launceston;
• As an integral part of a renegotiated contract, the RFDS will commit to the permanent placement of the leading edge aero medical simulator currently being commissioned in Launceston. This will provide a national centre for excellence for flight paramedic training in Australia, and be available for use by the Tasmanian Ambulance Service;
• Retention of a professional workforce and a service with an excellent reputation and national networks;
• Agreement by the Tasmanian section of the RFDS to contribute all funds raised by activities in Tasmania from bequests, fundraising, membership and donations directly to the costs of running the “traditional” RFDS service in Tasmania.

The plan would require the Commonwealth Government to contribute 33% or $2.75 million of the capital cost of the new aircraft ($8.25 million total), the balance to be shared equally between a Hodgman Liberal Government and the RFDS at $2.75 million each.

The total cost to the Tasmanian Government and taxpayers to provide a significantly enhanced level of service to the community will be substantially lower than any contestable State contract could achieve.

The Liberal partnership with the RFDS will be a performance‐based contract awarded through an exemption from the Treasurer’s Instructions consistent with current guidelines.

The added BONUS of this policy
With the added benefit of a new B200C King Air Aero medical aircraft, the current aircraft would be available for Tasmania at an affordable cost.

The availability of a second aircraft opens up the opportunities for a “flying clinic”. This “flying clinic” will be operated by the RFDS as it currently does in other states. A team of health professionals will be contracted from the RFDS to provide much needed services for Tasmanians living in areas such as the West Coast, East Coast, Bass Strait Islands and far North‐ West Coast.

A Hodgman Liberal Government will work with the RFDS and local hospitals and GPs to ensure a regular visitation program by the “flying clinic” to more remote locations. The recurrent savings estimated at $823,000 per annum from a renegotiated non‐contestable contract will be redirected into delivering allied health services via a “flying clinic”, including dental services, to be negotiated with the RFDS.

Why this policy is needed
Tasmania has been well served by the Royal Flying Doctor Service for many years.

The RFDS provides not just air ambulance retrieval and transport, but delivers flight paramedic training, health services in remote locations, and has investing a significant amount of its own funds into equipment and facilities in Tasmania.

The RFDS provides a vital lifeline for the Bass Strait islands, where helicopter retrieval is prohibitive.

In 2004, the Tasmanian Government awarded a seven‐year contract to the RFDS. That contract, which expires in July 2011, stipulated that the fixed wing aircraft was to be based at Launceston.

In 2007, the Commonwealth Government entered into an agreement with the RFDS nationally to provide recurrent and capital funding. This agreement also expires in July 2011. Under this agreement, capital is only provided to the States that provide “traditional” RFDS services and not those States that have contestable contracts.

In 2008, the State Health Minister released a review of medical retrieval services. The RFDS was not invited to participate in the review process but subsequently wrote to the Minister to correct major errors in her report.

In late September 2009, Tasmanians were shocked to hear that the State Labor Government was reconsidering the RFDS’ contract and Launceston could lose its air retrieval services.

The Tasmanian Health Minister confirmed that it was undertaking a further review of air retrieval, and that on expiry of the RFDS’ contract, tenders would be sought from other parties for the continuation of the service.

This would mean the RFDS would have to fight for its existence every three years, and if that tender were lost to a private operator, RFDS infrastructure, including hangars in Launceston and the new training simulator, would be also lost to the State.

A private operator would not attract Commonwealth funding to the state, would need to duplicate infrastructure or purchase assets from the RFDS at a significant premium and would obviously be profit based.

RFDS – a long record of helping Tasmanians
The RFDS have invested more than $1 million of its own funds into infrastructure in Tasmania and have provided health services, training, scholarships and equipment over and above those required by their current contract, including –

• A drive‐through shelter for patient transfers at Wynyard Airport ($150,000);
• A hangar, administration and pilot sleeping quarters at the Launceston Airport ($980,000);
• 30 GPS units for rural ambulances in Tasmania ($11,000);
• Crew amenities for RFDS and Tas Ambulance staff, plus the provision of extra training;
• An annual scholarship program for students to work in rural and remote areas;
• Equipment to support patient transport, including ventilators, booster seats for infants, intra‐aortic balloon pumps etc (over $50,000);
• Dental services on Flinders Island (airfares for dental personnel and equipment) ‐ $55,000 in 2008.

The RFDS recently secured funding from the Commonwealth to install a state‐of‐the‐art aero medical training simulator at Western Junction.

The RFDS has been good to Tasmania, raising funds locally and re‐investing those funds into services for the benefit of the whole community.

After 11 years of Labor...
After many years of exemplary service, the State Labor Government has indicated it is willing to put at risk millions of dollars of investment in infrastructure, services, staff and equipment, and potentially see a much‐loved organization lost to this State.

The RFDS has the runs on the board, provides an exceptional service to the Tasmanian community and should be recontracted to continue its service from Launceston Airport.
(Carol Cox, Mayor, Flinders Council, Examiner, 1 October 2009)

Several approaches have been made to the State Labor Government regarding the benefits to Tasmania of the incumbent RFDS continuing its role in Tasmania, however to date the Government maintain they would prefer to leave the current expensive contract in place, at least until after the election or when the contract expires in 2011.

The benefits of fixed wing aircraft
A pressurized aircraft cabin enables better management of patients with medical conditions such as closed head injuries, eye injuries, the bends, collapsed lungs, very premature babies, and spinal injuries because of the ability to fly above weather to lessen turbulence. The King Air is twice as fast as a helicopter which requires refuelling if flying from Hobart to the North‐West, and landing is dictated by weather conditions. Fixed wing can be airborne in the same time frame as a helicopter. Helicopter is prohibitive for air retrieval on the Bass Strait Islands where there is no option of road retrieval.

The State Liberals support a contemporary, centrally‐controlled service that integrates fixed wing, rotary and road retrieval to ensure all three services combine to provide Tasmanian patients with the best outcome, to markedly reduce the incidence of ‘dead leg’ flights and to ensure faster response times for patients.

*Costs are based on the lease of a second aircraft, an allocation for a small health professional team and a significant allocation of flying hours to cater for weekly visits, less the savings made through the new agreement with an intention to commence within the first year of a Hodgman Government – April 2011. Full offset benefits for this policy commence when the new aircraft is commissioned.