Introduction of a critical care doctor: The importance of planning for workplace culture

Miss Renee Bolot¹, Dr Chris McMullen^1,2

¹LifeFlight, Brisbane , Australia , ²Bundaberg Base Hospital , Bundaberg, Australia

Abstract:

LifeFlight’s Bundaberg base is located in Queensland, Australia. Established in 1998, the rescue helicopter has been servicing the Wide Bay- Burnett region for 25 years. This large population area includes popular tourist destinations and regional, rural and remote communities. Historically, critical care doctors have not been part of the onboard crew at the Bundaberg base. Due to this clinical crew configuration, complex missions requiring medically led care from within this region have had to be tasked from Rockhampton, Sunshine coast or Brisbane. Utilising teams from outside the Wide Bay-Burnett Region impacts treatment times and potentially definitive care for this patient cohort.

In August 2022, after years of fundraising, LifeFlight was in a position to place a critical care doctor on the community helicopter to work alongside the experienced paramedics, increasing the aeromedical capability to this region.

So how was this achieved?
An expert project team ensured that all aspects were carefully considered in the implementation such as staffing, equipment, education, training, and aviation. The safety team were engaged to help formulate a full risk assessment including all domains from aviation, medical and operational. Risk mitigation strategies were implemented to help roll out a successful project. One of the biggest factors that was highlighted early and carefully considered throughout the project was “culture”. Bundaberg base was known company wide for its incredible culture and work ethic. With our paramedic colleagues having worked independently for so long, how would placing a doctor into the team affect the culture, the team dynamics and the team synergy? This is something we had to acknowledge and ensure we addressed at every point in the project. This presentation will discuss the complexities we faced along the way, the importance of culture and where we see Bundaberg base in the future.

Biographies:

Renee Bolot (BN, MPH-AMR)
Renee is the Medical Operations Manager/Flight Nurse for LifeFlight. Her interests are in clinical governance, quality improvement and research in the pre- hospital and retrieval setting.
She was the project lead for the “Bundaberg Critical Care Doctor Project”.

Dr Chris McMullen (FACEM, MBBS, B.ExSc)
LifeFlight Bundaberg Base Clinical Lead, Emergency Staff Specialist Bundaberg Hospital
Chris is an Emergency and Retrieval Physician in Bundaberg. He was an important part of the project team in establishing a critical care doctor retrieval service for the Wide Bay Burnett region in his hometown of Bundaberg.