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Royal Flying Doctor Service... to lose services in Victoria

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YOURLifeChoices Staff
14 yrs ago

The RFDS has lost the tender in Victoria to Singaporean company Pel-Air and there are concerns the same will happen in New South Wales.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/07/22/2632884.htm

[quote]Pel-Air has tendered for the $70 million contract that has been held by the Royal Flying Doctor Service (RFDS) for the past seven years.

The RFDS has lost the contract to Pel-Air in Victoria and there are concerns the same will happen in New South Wales.

Rex managing director Jim Davis says the company has a lot of expertise in medical retrieval.

"Pel-Air currently provides medical services throughout Australia using small corporate jets and also supplies these services to the South Pacific and South-East Asia," he said.

"As an example, when Jose Ramos Horta, the Prime Minister of East Timor, was shot a while back and injured, it was Pel-Air that evacuated him back to Australia."

"The tender is quite prescriptive and we will be obliged to supply exactly the same services as have been provided in the past and Pel-Air is an expert in this area we have partnered with CareFlight International, NRMA CareFlight and we have provided successful medical services everywhere."

The Member for Dubbo, Dawn Fardell, is worried that if the RFDS loses the contract, years of community fundraising efforts will go to Pel Air's Singaporean interests.

But Mr Davis says the concerns are unfounded.

"Pel-Air is an Australian company and I can assure you every cent it makes stays in Australia and gets reinvested into the company," he said.

Mr Davis says the Government is expected to award the tender early next month.

"This is a public tender, there is nothing being taken away from any incumbent operator, this tender was always due to expire and be re-tendered," he said.

"It's normal Government process and I think the Government should be left to make a decision after it's done its due diligence."

Premier Nathan Rees says he understands the concern.

"There's lots of scaremongering around these sorts of things inevitably when there are changes to arrangements. I'll get some detail on it but I'd be appalled if ever we saw the end of the Royal Flying Doctor Service," he said.[/quote]

7 comments
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peterseaford
14 yrs ago

thanks for that information - apart from an office can you tell me where the RFD operates in Victoria.



if they do operate here i would love to visit their establishments like in Broken Hill .



regards



peter

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bevharro
14 yrs ago

I cannot believe that the Australian Government would let this tender go to an overseas company. If this keeps up, Australia will not be owned by Australians !!

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peterseaford
14 yrs ago

sorry to need to ask again but apart from space available at Essendon and an office in StKilda what else has the RFD done in Victoria.



everybody seems stunned but when did you see the RFD operating in Victoria??



i donate to the RFD on a regular basis and i am a member of VKS 737 which is very close to the RFD .



RFD has no radio post in Victoria that i can contact on HF radio so actually what service will no longer be provided in Victoria??

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Pommy
14 yrs ago

RFDS must have been doing [b]something[/b] in Victoria to warrant a 70 million dollar contract being given to Pel Air. If not, someone is going to be very unhappy.

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peterseaford
14 yrs ago

well all i ask is what ?



35 people were employed but what did they do ?? have you heard of any air evacuations carried out by them in Victoria??



ho they give free air transport and treatment to people in Victoria like they do in say outback NSW.



i am not denying that they are a wonderful service but as i read on this site that they are being replaced by a singaporean company i wondered what they did ?



seems you dont know either - would that be true to say.



i believe all we have here is airport space - and maybe equipment availability but i do not know either/



thats why i ask ?



70 million is a lot to a pensioner

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PlanB
14 yrs ago

I would like to know why they would need a RFD in Vic also--

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peterseaford
14 yrs ago

thats more like it - find out - dont just jump and cry loss - what did we get for $70 million and what will we get from the Singapore mob for $70million.



have no idea what we in Victoria got in the past except employ for 35 people - if they had a job to do then would not the new mob also need them - or are they not necessary.??



who would like to phone the RFD at Essendon and find out -



03 9299 5355



think you may find that it has to do with materials and accounts for RFD services in other states so their value to us - apart from being Australian is that they employed some Victorians and who would'nt if the hand out was $70 million per year.





are you aware that the services of the RFD are free - no ambulance service membership or private health for anybody - not just pensioners.



they provide first aide chests - clinics - doctor visits and air repatriation - all free but not in Victoria to the best of my knowlege.



have no doubt - RFD is a wonderful service - we are only concerned with $70 million and the seeming panic that an Australian icon was leaving the state - well what will we loose at all??



the only question from The Administrator that i ask - why the concern - what did they do in Victoria ???



have a nice day



regards peter

7 comments



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