The Royal Flying Doctor Service | Far North Queensland | Mick Jess and Barry Dawson

If you live in Australia, there's a 75% chance that you live in a city of 100,000 residents or more. That also means there's at least a 75% chance that you have never required the vital assistance of the Royal Flying Doctor Service, or RFDS for short.The RFDS is the organisation that ensures our rural and remote Australians remain connected with health support. They are an indispensable lifeline for over 6 million Australians. In 2020 alone, the RFDS had more than 320,000 patient contacts, or 876 per day. That is, every day, 876 souls were given hope of medical treatment and care.On this episode of How Good Are Humans, I am speaking with Mick Jess and Barry Dawson, two RFDS pilots who work in the Far North Queensland base of RFDS. The FNQ base services the Cape York and Torres Strait Island regions of Australia, two of the most remote and isolated regions in the country. Cape York and the Torres Strait are also characterised by harsh climatic and weather conditions, as well as disparately poor health outcomes amongst the resident Indigenous Australian populations—the majority inhabitants. Mick and Barry talk me through what it is like to fly in these conditions, and what happens when there is no air strip to land on. They recall their careers as aviators, and share a plethora of stories; some thrilling, others harrowing, all captivating.The lads also explain the broad variety of health services that the RFDS provide to the Australian community, as well as how the team-which consists of pilots and health professionals—works together to best provide this medical attention.Both Mick and Barry have a great sense of humour, no doubt forged by many years of arduous but rewarding working conditions. For example, Mick explains to me which kind of toilet paper makes for the best improvised landing lights. I won't spoil the answer for you here.I hope you enjoy, and come to realise how good these humans really are.-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------To find out more about the RFDS, check out:Their website: www.flyingdoctor.org.auThe latest annual report: www.flyingdoctor.org.au/about-the-rfds/annual-reports/Their YouTube channel: www.youtube.com/user/RoyalFlyingDoctor