Report shows Royal Flying Doctor Service continues to provide critical service for thousands

A new independent report has found the Royal Flying Doctor Service is delivering double the value of funding invested into it, with the South West seeing an increase in patients retrieved in a 12-month period.

Data from the Deloitte Access Economics report released in January found the RFDS was essential to providing health care for more than 20,000 people across regional WA each year.

It was reported the critical service responded to about 10,578 calls in 2025, an average of 29 per day, the most it had previously done in a year.

In the South West, 528 patients were retrieved which was 13 more than the previous year.

The report suggested the service was expected to deliver a social dividend to Western Australia valued at $4.1 billion across the next 30 years, with about half of this value to be generated by its “flagship aeromedical service”.

Also providing a contribution was its health clinics, telehealth, medical chests and outreach services.

RFDS WA chief executive Judith Barker said the analysis in the report showed how West Australians relied on and valued the RFDS services.

“The RFDS has strong support from government and the community, and I am very pleased to be able to demonstrate the return on that investment to our funders and the communities we serve,” she said.

“Our partnerships with the WA Country Health Service, WA hospitals, St John WA, Aboriginal Medical Services, our corporate and community partners, donors and others are all critical to our service provision.

“We are just one part of a bigger ecosystem that does a fantastic job of caring for patients across the sometimes challenging and often complex conditions of regional and remote WA.”