Transport service a lifeline for Pat & Allan
Flying Doctor Community Transport links Heathcote residents with vital health and community services.
Heathcote stalwarts Pat and Allan are well known around town, having been active members of the community for more than 50 years. However, with Allan’s eyesight failing and Pat told to keep driving to a minimum, they were finding it difficult to attend medical appointments in Bendigo, 50km away. This challenge came into stark focus when Allan was diagnosed with cancer and needed crucial treatment.
That’s when Flying Doctor Community Transport stepped in.
Flying Doctor Community Transport is a partnership between RFDS Victoria and Heathcote Health. It connects trained, local volunteer drivers with eligible clients in need of transport to medical appointments and planned activity group sessions.
This free service overcomes the barriers of limited public transport access, accessibility issues and the expense of a taxi (sometimes up to $100 for a trip to Bendigo and back), while also providing the added benefit of a social link back to the community via the volunteer driver.
“I don’t know what we would have done without it,” says Pat.
“We wouldn’t be able to get to the doctors. They’ve been absolutely marvellous.”
Below: Pat, alongside Erin - RFDS' Community Transport Program Coordinator
For Pat and Allan – and hundreds of other Heathcote residents – Flying Doctor Community Transport is making a life-changing difference to their health and happiness.
Colin, one of our Flying Doctor Community Transport volunteers, sums up the reaction of the people it helps best when he says, “The people that I drive - they’re overwhelmed by it. They can’t believe we’ve been so lucky to get it in Heathcote and the areas around us. They’re rapt.”
To learn more about RFDS Victoria's services or to donate, please see https://www.flyingdoctor.org.au/vic/
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