The Queensland Government has committed to supporting the construction of a new regional aeromedical base and multi-tenanted facility located between Brisbane airport's two runways at the Airport North Precinct. The building project will accommodate the RFDS, LifeFlight, the government's airwing (QGAir) and Retrieval Services Queensland (RSQ), which co-ordinates aeromedical services across the state on behalf of Queensland Health. It will feature new patient transfer facilities, hangars for fixed and rotary wing aircraft, training and administration areas.

The Queensland section of Australia-based air ambulance operator Royal Flying Doctor Service (RFDS) welcomed an extra $334 million, 10 year commitment to continue delivering essential services to regional, rural and remote Queensland. The agreement will allow RFDS to continue to improve the health outcomes of Queenslanders through the provision of fully integrated services across the state including emergency medical evacuations, GP and nurse clinics, telehealth, dental care, mental health, health education, patient transfers and research. The additional funding will also support dedicated aeromedical services for Queensland Health in Charleville and enhanced service delivery across the RFDS network.

RFDS chief executive officer Meredith Staib says: “This agreement strengthens our partnership and enhances our RFDS network of nine bases across the state. Our work with Queensland Health allows our aeromedical services to optimise and improve the availability of services to patients in need. We are incredibly pleased with this 10 year commitment as it highlights our fundamental role and provides confidence to communities in our capacity to deliver the finest care to the furthest corners of the country.”

RACQ LifeFlight Rescue will join other aeromedical service providers as tenants of the 'super base', and is to receive $10.4 million to assist in relocating to establish its Brisbane rotary and fixed wing operations at the new centre.

"This joint hub will be transformational for the aeromedical network in Queensland, housing our world-class service alongside our colleagues at RFDS and QGAir. To also have the strong and effective co-ordination of RSQ based at the same facility will be integral to continuing smooth operation, as the demand for aeromedical services grows," says LifeFlight Australia deputy chair honourable Jim Elder. "This announcement is a fantastic outcome for the future, and those who will benefit most are the people of Queensland, especially those in remote and regional areas who rely on services such as ours to ensure they have access to the same levels of medical care, as those who live in our urban centres."

The LifeFlight hangar will accommodate two medically configured Challenger 604 fixed wing aircraft and two highly advanced AW139 helicopters. Quality crew quarters will ensure their round-the-clock rescue readiness, with rapid response times proven to lead to better health outcomes for patients. The most significant feature of the planned multi-million dollar hub is a highly advanced patient transfer centre, which will be able to cater to even the highest acuity patients. It will be the equivalent of an emergency department, right next to where the aircraft land.

"The positioning of the transfer centre is key to its success. It will be located centrally in the hub and easily accessible from the LifeFlight, RFDS and QGAir hangars, ensuring smooth, integrated treatment of patients, which will be vital if we are helping multiple people being airlifted from significant mass casualty events," says Elder.

Support from the community and government is vital to charity service providers, and he continues: "We are deeply grateful to the state government, the Premier, the Health Minister, the Treasurer and our colleagues at Queensland Health for this generous support, which will enable us to turn this plan, which has been more than seven years in the making, into reality."