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LifeFlight Australia has officially opened its new multi-million-dollar helicopter base at Roma in Queensland’s Maranoa region.
The base, which cost $3.4 million, will include a hangar large enough to house a Leonardo AW139 helicopter, and will be home to the LifeFlight Surat Gas Aeromedical Service (SGAS), which is provided by LifeFlight on behalf of Surat Basin Gas companies.
“This is a significant improvement on the previous helicopter base. The fit-for-purpose centre will provide a robust regional hub in the Maranoa region, which is vital to meeting the increase in demand for emergency services in the south west,” said LifeFlight Board Chair Hon. Jim Elder.
“And of course, we continue to work closely with the SGAS partners, and look forward to continuing to embrace that relationship into the future.”
The Roma facility was enabled by a community fundraising effort among local businesses, individual donors and philanthropic supporters, as well as a grant from the federal government and a long-term peppercorn lease from Maranoa Regional Council.
“This project has been a true partnership which has involved the Federal Government, generous community members, businesses, major donors, the Maranoa Regional Council, our SGAS partners and LifeFlight Australia,” said Kate Scott, LifeFlight South West Regional Advisory Committee Chair.
“As we look to the future of LifeFlight in our region, we will continue to support projects which help to deliver vital medical retrieval services.”
LifeFlight SGAS Pilot Simon Newman added that the base will enable crew to work more efficiently, and offer local ambulances straight-through access to the hangar and apron for patient transfer.
“With the base being purpose-built, it is tailored to the needs of pilots, medical and support staff. That means it will be a lot easier and far more efficient to do our jobs, so that we are able to cater for the needs of our patients, as well as be ready for the next mission even more quickly,” he said.
The news comes two months after LifeFlight’s announcement that it will build a new base maintenance facility at Brisbane’s Archerfield Airport.
The larger hangar, expected to begin work in July and be completed by early next year, will allow the aeromedical charity to double its current base maintenance capacity and will form the “epicentre” of the organisation’s engineering activities in Queensland.
