THE TAKEOFF After working as a locum with several hospitals on the Gold Coast and with the ADF, Glenn, who hails from New Zealand and is a former Assistant Professor at Bond University for Retrieval Medicine, recognised the growing need for transport networks to bring people back to cities to access health services. “That extends beyond state borders,” he says. “As businesses extend out into remote regions they have an obligation to staff to make sure they can get them home in an emergency.” Additionally, baby boomers are moving into retirement and travelling internationally. “This is an age group that has a lot of co-morbidities and medical conditions, so it is important there is a network to look after them and to move those people from remote locations back to cities to get treatment.” Around 2013, a series of events set Medical Rescue into a period of rapid growth. First, the business picked up a contract with Racing Queensland to provide full-time paramedics at South East Queensland racetracks. Two months later, CHC helicopters and Shell contracted the business to supply paramedics for an all-weather search and rescue helicopter based in Broome in support of numerous oilrigs off the coast of the northwest shelf. Fortuitously, the Broome-based helicopter was in the right place at the right time to carry out one of the biggest air rescue missions seen in Australia in the past two years. The aircraft, which is the longest-range helicopter in Australia, was able to rescue a patient with critical head injuries from a cruise ship halfway between Australia and Bali. The rescue saved a life and also showcased the capabilities of Medical Rescue. “It was the most complex case you could imagine,” says Michael. “The patient was unconscious and in an induced coma and the paramedic had to provide breathing for that patient as they were winched off the cruise ship.” The recognition provided by the rescue helped Medical Rescue gain a full-time contract with the Australian Defence Force to provide airborne paramedics to transport injured soldiers all over the country. Without good people, those contracts would never have come into place, and it is careful choice of staff members that Glenn credits as being a key driver of the business’ growth. “We have put a lot of effort into selecting our staff to create the right balance of people – from senior clinicians who make the right clinical decisions to really good operations staff who can think on their feet,” says Glenn. “Our company is only as good as its people. We are very fortunate that we have a committed staff that work all hours of the day and night to achieve the business’ outcomes. We are very lucky.” THE PHILIPPINES Michael’s most memorable moment in the business may have been the return of the healthy Vanuatu patients, but his most rewarding was organising a team of medical professionals to treat patients in the Philippines following Typhoon Haiyan. In 2013, Medical Rescue set up a foundation with a mission to provide a sophisticated medical team for natural disaster relief worldwide. Just two months later, the Philippines was hit by the devastating typhoon and the Medical Rescue Foundation leapt into action. It sent around 80 clinicians north to South East Asia who treated 2,000 patients in a month. The business was in the process of moving offices from Tugun to Varsity Lakes, so Glenn put his family up in Brisbane and turned his home into an office. Bed sheets hung behind almost every window to create makeshift whiteboards, staff moved in, the house was filled with computers and the basement became the supply magazine. Medical bags spewed forth on the floor through the living room. The team linked up with Save the Children to get the clinicians into the Philippines, and “begged and borrowed,” in an effort to get the transport and supplies needed to fulfill the initial stages of the mission. Some medical staff were able to hitch a ride on RAF Hercules aircraft, others travelled on commercial airlines. Supplies came from local hospitals and NGOs while the foundation worked to get its supply chains in place. “It was two weeks after the initial incident that our team got on the ground and they were treating patients who were receiving their first medical intervention since the typhoon,” says Michael. He adds that it was important the team was not a burden on the local community during the crisis, becausetheauthoritieswereundersomuchstress. “We had to be self sufficient, so we had to send a few of our rescue-trained firefighters who set up generators, tents, and accommodation while our people were treating patients during the day, and we had to hire our own local cook." “It was an absolute nightmare, but at the same time probably the most rewarding thing we have done within the group.” Glenn adds, “It was a busy month. And then we moved office and it was all over. All this space, and now what? We’ll need to secure more business!” Just two months later, a Medical Rescue Foundation team went into the Solomon Islands following the devastating floods. It was the first non-government organisation on the ground providing medical support. Today, it has a roster of hundreds of medical specialists on call, in case of another disaster. This is an age group that has a lot of co-morbidities and medical conditions, so it is important there is a network to look after them and to move those people from remote locations back to cities to get treatment D R I V E R BEHIND THE WHEEL 13 M B G C 12