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The Queen of Corrigin’s royal helicopter ride
When long-time Corrigin resident and family matriarch Josephine ‘Josie’ Hovell (85) felt faint last June, she called her friend and neighbour Edith Carruthers to take her to the local district hospital. Known to her family as the ‘Queen of Corrigin’ for her involvement in local community life, Josie is a breast cancer survivor who underwent open heart surgery in 2015, lives alone and doesn’t take any chances when it comes to her health.
At Corrigin Hospital, a telehealth video conference with a Perth doctor was quickly arranged. Given Josie’s medical history, the doctor wasted no time in deciding Josie needed to travel to Perth immediately!
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Corrigin is over 220kms from Perth and two and a half hours away by car. With time being of the essence, the doctor called the RFDS for help.
Josie was relieved when the nurse told her she would be transferred by the RFDS to Perth. But when the local ambulance took her to Corrigin oval instead of Corrigin airstrip, Josie was surprised to discover she would be travelling to Perth by helicopter and not a fixedwing plane which her late husband and many local friends and family members had done before.
“I have lived in the country all my life and have always supported and fundraised for the Royal Flying Doctor Service but didn’t realise they now had a helicopter, let alone being the first person from Corrigin to be transferred in it” exclaimed Josie.
“I was a little nervous at first, but the pilot, doctor and nurse were just so wonderful, we are so lucky to have the RFDS in WA”
“As I continue to age, it is comforting to know I don’t have to move to Perth permanently to have quick access to the care I need.
“My three children, six grandchildren, and 13 (almost 14) greatgrandchildren live all over regional WA, so it is important to me that the RFDS is here to look after them for many generations to come, just like they have done for me.”
Launched in May 2022, the RFDS Fortescue Heli Med Service retrieves patients from up to 250kms from Perth and delivers them directly to the roof of Perth’s major hospitals, saving critical time and getting patients to hospital faster.
