THE NSW government is investing $15 million to support the Royal Flying Doctor Service (RFDS) to continue providing its lifesaving services across NSW.
Part of the 2026-27 State Budget, the funding will enable the RFDS to deliver primary health care, dental and mental health services, retrievals, and patient and clinician transport in regional, rural and remote areas.
The money is in addition to funding the NSW Government provides to the not-for-profit charity to deliver services, including:
– Rural Aerial Health Service to transport clinicians to rural, regional and remote locations to provide health services;
– Inter-hospital transfers operating from Dubbo and Broken Hill air bases, transporting patients who are seriously ill or in a life-threatening condition to a suitable hospital;
– Non-Emergency Patient Transfers to provide end-to-end non-emergency patient transport to and from public hospitals and health facilities; and
– Medical Services Clinics, Oral Health Services and Alcohol and Other Drug Services in far western NSW.
Operating for 98 years, the RFDS employs more than 390 staff to deliver its essential services.
The funding is part of a broader investment by the state government to help regional, rural and remote communities access health care, such as recruiting an additional 500 regional paramedics, investing $200 million to deliver key health worker accommodation, and increasing incentives to entice health workers to remote regions.
The government is also investing $83 million to boost maternity care in the bush, including $44.8 million to recruit 53 additional midwives and $37.5 million to expand its Mobile Dental Van program.
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