The Sunshine Coast has helped give wings to regional Queenslanders facing financial stress and fatigue from regular long-distance travel for non-emergency medical treatment.
Community Flights – a registered charity providing free air transport to those patients living in remote or regional communities – has landed a local ‘base’ through a partnership with Sunshine Coast Aero Club.
The partnership will allow Community Flights to ensure quicker access to Sunshine Coast University private and public hospitals and other medical services.
Community Flights was first registered as a charity in November 2021 and flights began during the Gympie flooding in May this year. The headquarters of the service is in Hervey Bay.
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With a lack of ongoing funding, the free service relies on weekly raffles and donations to operate.
To date, 28 charity flights have been completed, covering 3416 nautical miles, for Category 2 and 3 patients who do not require medical attention onboard.
The aero club committee has given Community Flights an honorary membership and keys for early-morning flight arrivals.
Community Flights founder, director and pilot Mark McMurtrie is grateful for the assistance and encouragement the club has provided.
“We differ from existing services because we are based regionally in an area of high demand and have a commercial pilot and aircraft on hand,” the River Heads Pharmacy pharmacist said.
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“This gives us the benefit of being able to fly at short notice and saving travel time for passenger pick-up.
“Close to a third of our flights have brought cancer patients to the Sunshine Coast University Private Hospital, so the assistance from the aero club helps make this journey smooth for us and the patient.
“The generosity and support from everyone I’ve met at the Sunshine Coast Aero Club, and the broader aviation community, has been overwhelming.”
Aero club director Naomi McQueen was pleased her group could assist the medical transport charity.
“Access to aviation reduces barriers faced by those in regional and rural locations,” she said.
“We are pleased that our club can help make medical journeys as easy as possible for members of our Queensland community.”
As a new charity, Community Flights has been a “difficult but rewarding passion project” for Mr McMurtrie.
“With the considerable running cost of the aircraft alone, I have had to self-fund close to $50,000, and take personal loans to upgrade the Piper Arrow with navigational instruments that allow us to fly through rain and cloud,” he said.
“This should be finalised by the end of the year to prevent many of the flight cancellations.
“We had to cancel four flights last week with the low cloud and heavy rain.”
Mr McMurtrie has been seeking the first 100 Founding Sponsors ($500) to help get the charity off the ground and is now running weekly online raffles to put fuel in the plane.
All contributions are fully tax deductible.
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