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The Royal Flying Doctor Service Queensland Section says 2019 was its busiest year to date, with more than 98,000 attendances across the state. RFDS (Queensland Section) CEO, Meredith Staib, said the increase in occasions of care was due to an expanding portfolio of service delivery for the Flying Doctor in Queensland. "Whether that be increasing our physical presence in drought affected areas through our mental health services, expanding the roster and reach of our RFDS Mobile Dental Service, or capitalising on innovative new technologies in the telehealth space to increase accessibility for our patients to our medical staff, we are always looking at ways we can better serve the people of Queensland," Ms Staib said. "This year alone we've seen an increase of almost 10,000 occasions of care from the same period last year." In the 2018/19 financial year, the RFDS saw 27272 patients through its mobile dental service, up 1,080 over last year, 1535 patients through its outback mental health service, up almost 1500; and 16,641 patients through its telehealth service, up 3303 from last year. In Mount Isa, the RFDS flew 987 patients compared to 934 the previous year. The primary health care team also saw 4852 patients, compared to 4239 in the previous year, at 554 primary health care clinics held from the Gulf of Carpentaria right down the western Queensland border. RFDS Mount Isa Manager of Clinical and Base Operations Katrina Seng said a concerted effort to continue to build trust in the rural communities serviced by the Mount Isa team was resulting in more people attending GP and nursing clinics. "At each clinic we try our best to ensure we get the same doctors and nurses facilitating the specific clinics each week," Ms Seng said. "This helps build trust and the relationships with our patients that are crucial in ensuring they feel comfortable attending our clinics and seeking medical advice and help. "We have also introduced practice coordinators at each of our traditional bases, which has helped streamline service delivery in our clinics and ensure we have enough time when we're in rural and remote communities to see as many patients as possible." READ ALSO: New Rodeo Dr monument is a tribute to Mount Isa's past While you are here subscribe to our weekly email to your inbox at 6am every Friday

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