I know the term “travel medicine” refers to the prevention and management of health-related issues in people who travel abroad, but the true meaning of the phrase is brought out by a group of doctors literally on the other end of the earth.

I’ve been fascinated with the tale of Australia’s flying doctors ever since I caught a few episodes of the television series that aired in the late 80s, and today, when I hear the words travel and medicine uttered in the same breath, I’m reminded of these men and women who brave Australia’s desolate and rugged outback to treat the locals who are so isolated that the term emergency medical help was an anomaly 80 years ago.

1928 saw the birth of the fledgling organization, the Aerial Medical Service which was the forerunner of the current Royal Flying Doctor Service, an initiative of the Reverend John Flynn. Having had to watch a man die for lack of quick and efficient medical attention, the missionary, who was already involved in setting up hospitals and medical facilities in the rural outback area, raised funds to put into practice an idea provided by Lieutenant Clifford Peel of Victoria – and the first plane was commissioned to treat people who lived in isolated areas of the Australian outback.

Radio is used as the main means of communication between the people who need help and the 23 bases that are spread across the outback region. The RFDS has 47 planes at its disposal, and doctors from as far away as Germany and Zimbabwe are among its staff members who cater to the desolate outback and serve people who work in the mines and ranches.

Some flights go out on emergency services to treat people in case of accidents and to deliver babies while others go on routine trips to practice preventive medicine with ophthalmologists and dentists who perform related checkups and surgeries. Most rural residents do not bother to go to a doctor or hospital, a facility that is often very far away from where they live, for routine visits to take care of the teeth, eyes or general health. The RFDS prevents the occurrence of cataract-related blindness and other such preventive diseases by its regular visits to the outback with experts in the related fields.

Nurses also form a vital part of the medical squad – the Flying Sisters as they are colloquially known, often travel alone with just the pilots to the remote location to oversee the emergency evacuation of patients, and are guided over radio by doctors who remain at the base stations.

The service, which is a not-for-profit organization, is entirely free of cost with money being raised by volunteers from generous donors and grateful patients alike.

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