Bent over in pain, David anxiously sat in the car as his wife urgently drove the four, long hours to get to the closest facility for lifesaving care. Driving over the rugged outback landscape, he felt every second of his journey before arriving in the hands of Dr Francis Asomah.

A Brisbane based surgeon, Francis does a five-day trip every few weeks as part of the iconic Flying Surgical Services team.

Unlike the Royal Flying Doctors Service (RFDS) who provide invaluable retrieval services and patient transfers to larger metropolitan facilities, the RFDS fly our Queensland Health surgeons out to regional and rural facilities to provide general surgical care in the local communities.

Not just improving access to care and reducing travel for consumers, the service opens up a world of opportunity with surgeons on-call for the duration of their trip should an emergency arise and allows them to follow-up with their patients in Brisbane and on their next trip.

David’s is one of many stories of the lives saved and changed by Francis’ care.

The Flying Surgical Service is a partnership between Metro North, Central West and South West Hospital and Health Services with support from Clinical Excellence Queensland, Healthcare Purchasing and System Performance Division and the RFDS.

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