Two years ago at age 68 l was bitten on the left foot by a White tale spider. Turned Septic went to the local hospital Tara, held overnight. In the morning my middle toe had turned blue. The RFDS flue me to Toowoomba Hospital. Within half an hour I was in surgery. 4 days later they Amputated my left leg below the knee. Long story short 14 weeks in hospital, then a wheel chair, and finally a Prosthesis. Total cost $000. If the RFDS had not gotten me to Hospital as quick as they did I would not be here now. Eternally grateful to the RFDS. Am 70 now and can do most things OK. Yes you can call us Aussies. All the best. Bluey 🙃🇦🇺🇨🇦
A white tail can fit on a ten cent coin. Small but deadly if you are allergic, flesh eating bites. They don't make nests, just small white sacs, to hide in.
I had a whitetail 7 bites on my face. By the second day had to do the research and rang the Fremantle bites line and it was them deduced it was a whitetail spider. They got me to go to hospital in the city emergency dept. They gave me penicillin by tablet. It fixed it and by the next day it was resolving and the numbness and grey/black blotches started healing. Within 4 days they healed but I have small scars. One on my lip where it tried to get in my mouth. The first few bites were near my eye. For a harmless looking little insect those things are lethal.
Like Canada, we also have a universal health care system in Australia, which is different in its organisation but essentially it is free at the point of delivery though doctors can charge an extra fee by prior arrangement which may be covered by optional health insurance.
By all means call us Aussies 👍🏼 We too have universal health care. Pretty much the same as Canada. The RFDS receive Royal assent in 1954 after a visit from Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip. The Governor General of Australia is their Patron. It is a free service to all Australians. Fortnight is a common term in Australia meaning 2 weeks
I regularly donate to 2 charities in Australia. One is the Flying Doctor and the other is Guide Dogs for the blind. I have family members who have benefited from both these services, and both were completely free.
……my fave charity is Pony Riding for the Disabled. Have contributed my whole working life to it, as the work they do for those folk, is wonderful. Am a horse rider since 8yo, so am a tad ‘biased’ towards it………
I lived in country South Australia at the time, I was 38 and had a heart attack, within 3 hours I was on the plane to Adelaide, 2 weeks in hospital, 2 stents, cost $0. I have 4 sons and luckily I NEVER had to take them to hospital, I now have a grandson who thinks he can fly, breaking his arms twice before age 8!
The Royal Flying Doctor Service is probably the thing Australians are mostly proud of. Another thing worthwhile doing a reaction to is inventions that Australians are responsible for, many have had worldwide effects.
………a QANTAS engineer invented the mobile steps to aircraft, for passengers’ to embark, & disembark, before aero bridges became commonplace. An Aussie also invented an aircraft’s ‘black box’, which is actually coloured ‘orange’, so it can be easily located amongst aircraft wreckage………
The RFDS also supply medical chests to remote mining companies and stations (ranches). If a person is sick they can ring the RFDS doctors and they can prescribe the medication from the chest so they get well. The RFDS are now funded by the federal Govt and donations from the public. I make donations to the RFDS even though I will probably never need their services. The RFDS makes you proud to be an Aussie.
The word Aussie is just a shortened word for Australian, just like everything else we like to shorten it! And yes a two-way is a CB radio. You mentioned you have a volunteer search and rescue service there. We also have our SES (State Emergency Service) which is also volunteer and help backuo our Emergency Services whether its rescueing people from the middle of outback, to people fallen down mountains/cliffs, to helping Police searches and also the first ones to help out in floods and rain. Just another fantastic service we have here also. Here is a video of more of how the RFDS started and its history ect and how it runs. It will answer more of your questions, rather than just personal stories and give you a bigger picture of the service itself. The RFDS is something very unique to Australia and people are more than happy to hand over a donation to help support this fantastic vital service. Nearly everyone will have a story themselves, a friend or relative that has been helped by the RFDS. There is another video I've seen others react to which is a little longer but gives a more detailed video of the how its all started, history and the services it provides. If I do find it, Ill paste the link also but this one woll give you a better idea of the service. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-WxQ-EzWsNoc.htmlsi=TQElYlU4IlyTFJCN
@@discoveringnlwithkevinG’day Mate. The basics of this video is OK. But unfortunately the Americanised voice over, co-opted the original, and so (unfortunately) like a lot of videos about Australia done by foreigners, the foreign presenter does a lazy or sometimes a really lousy job of fact checking. This is a generalisation and there are indeed some videos that are perfectly fine. So my bit of advice is to check out the comments first. Especially if it’s a video that you wish to react to. We Aussies are usually pretty upfront and quick, to call out whatever bullshit we come across. So just keep in mind with The video suggested that some of the facts that the American presenter states, aren’t quite right. You should try and find out about the “School of the Air”, this was a offshoot that grew up out of the radio service that the RFDS provided. Namely the Pedal (powered) Wireless, an Aussie invention that didn’t require a generator. Unfortunately good videos on this are rare, so if you’re curious, then Wikipedia does a good job on this.
The term Royal can ONLY be used with assignment from The Crown. Simple as. Also a point to be aware of, the RFDS us NOT AN ARIAL AMBULANCE. Each aircraft is a flying ICU. The doctors and nurses are the ome of the most qualified in Australua. All are multi qualified in order to deal with every trauma possible. Yes they have their own number and tes you speak directly to doctors. Yes stations, roadhouses and other approved remote sites have a medical chest about the size of two suitcases. Hospital grad meds that are specially coded for use with RFDS doctors over the phone. If you need the RFDS you are in REAL TROUBLE and they will come. Also, outback, 4 hours is not a long time to drive to see a doctor. Without the RFDS, outback Australia would cease to function. REAL HEROS, ALL OF THE RFDS.
The RFDS isfinancedby donations, both in small amounts and large. Mining companies, farming associations etc all donate huge amounts, not because they have too, but because the see, everyday, the need fir the service.
I've worked on cattle and sheep stations (ranch) in remote Australia. because I have university qualifications in healthcare. I'm the person who deals with medical emergencies I've had to use defibrillators, and use medical equipment, and do medical procedures. The Royal Flying Doctor Service, first aid kit, is far beyond normal first aid. My friends (joke) are amazed at how large my first aid kits are. Way beyond what people consider normal, that I have in my car!!
I'm in New Zealand - "across the ditch" as they say. We're often called Kiwis, which is perfectly acceptable and we refer to Australians as Aussies but sometimes it's expanded to "those bloody Aussies".
Last January had a heart attack and was flown from Horsham to Melbourne by the Flying Doctor Service (about 450 kms). Its capable of carrying 2 beds, one nurse and 2 pilots. Wonderful service. Thank you.
G'day mate.😊 greetings from Queensland Australia. Please don't think you silly for not knowing something. We're all learning everyday 😊 A few things that might help. Aussie is a standard term for Australian no offence attached to the term. We shorten everything 😅 GP is general practitioner. We go to the gp as a standard thing and they refer us onto a specialist if necessary. Fortnight is a standard term here for a two week period. Suicide is the highest killer of men between 18 and 45 in Australia. We are often taught to keep our feelings to ourselves.so physiology is an important part of the medical service. I too as most people have struggled with depression and anxiety. Ive had suicidal periods so i kinda understand where you've been brother. I truly hope youre doing better now. The RFDS is an amazing service and shows how they care for those who struggle to get the help they need 😊
I can remember the first time driving up through the centre of Australia, Adelaide to Darwin. When in the middle of nowhere in northern South Australia, the road suddenly widened and was flat and dead straight. At the very start was a grid painted in white, and what looked like a large sealed parking area on the other, (right hand) side of the road. It was then I realized that I was driving on a landing strip for use by the RFDS. At the end of this strip was another white painted grid on the road surface. And another large 'parking area' on my side of the road. These were turning areas for aircraft to turn into the wind to take off. Australia is planned different to other countries.
Also, being called "mate" is great; whether male or female, put the two together is your friends saying " my Aussie mate". Also to understand the unique character of an Aussie, you need to understand our unique sport 'Aussie Rules'; react to "What Is AFL: Aussie Rules Explained" and "A Beginners Guide to Australian Rules Football", bothvideos are from the AFL channel. You can also say when greeting an Australian friend "G'day mate".
The other service for remote areas of Australia is "the school of the air". It is educational service for school aged children and is conducted over a two way radio which is usually VHF or UHF . These types of radio are used for their abilities to operate over vast distances and terrains and in bad weather. Most Stations and mining camps have VHF and or UHF as do military and police. With advances in technology computers are now used however in remote areas of Australia Mobile Phone and computer coverage are not always available. 000 is our emergency number and is monitored nationally and no matter where you are they will connect to the nearest local service required. Ambulance, Fire, police, SES and RFDS
Sorry, VHF and UHF are short range. The old Flying Doctor radio was HF which can operate over vast distances. In more populated areas the short range systems are used over longer distances by the use of fixed repeater stations. The Flying Doctor Radio was also used to send telegrams.
Two way radio is usually VHF radio for the ability to talk over long distances and different terrain whereas Citizen Band Radio (CB) has limited line of site only range. CB is common in vehicles and for comms between vehicles on highways etic
The RFDS is based all over Australia with many types of planes in their fleet, and is funded primarily by donations, grants etc...you could call them a charitable institution per se. GP's are indeed general practitioners and the nurses are trained paramedics able to offer such a wide range of care. 👍🤗🤕
‘Fortnight’ is from Old English and means ‘fourteen nights’. Many workplaces in Australia pay fortnightly. Most government departments and agencies pay fortnightly. It is much more common than monthly here.
A fortnight is a two week period. We use the term all the time. The RFDS has always been funded by donations. So, we not only have to thank the professionals who work with the RFDS, we have to thank, profoundly, those who donate to the service. Oh, let's not forget the incredible pilots, who have to fly in some of the most testing conditions on earth.
Thank you for reacting to this wonderful video about the amazing RFDS. I enjoy watching videos about fantastic services like the RFDS. It makes one appreciate the good side of humanity.
What the mental health lady was doing with her hand, is called "the great Aussie salute"; what she is actually doing is shoo-ing away flies, they figuratively eat you alive.
My experience with the RFDS was thankfully not as severe as many of the comments here, but I was grateful to have them on the phone. A colleague drilled through a pressurised pipe which blew all the metal swarf/cuttings into his eyes. I had the fun job of removing them… They’re universally beloved by Aussies, and I heard it stated as fact that they’re the most trusted charitable organisation in Australia. Out in rural/remote areas their donation tins are everywhere and often “fines” within communities and workplaces are levied as an RFDS donation. Things like wearing your hat into the bar, getting bogged, etc. They’re a national service but this seems to have been specifically about their activities in Queensland. Something hardly touched on is their pilots, they’re landing these planes on roads or just strips of dirt in all conditions. Takes a special breed of aircrew to do what they do. They very much deserve their Royal ascent 🙂
We have universal healthcare. The RFDS is run on government grants and private donations and doesn't charge patients for their services. Queen Elizabeth II visited the Broken Hill Flying Doctor base in 1954, and bestowed the name Royal upon the Flying Doctors which became the Royal Flying Doctor Service (RFDS) officially in name in 1955. The Broken Hill base still exists, is the only operational base where people can tour the inside of base to learn about the RFDS. The doctors, nurses, pilots, engineers, etc are all paid, but there are a LOT of Aussies that volunteer to help them, usually through fundraising events and the like. Australia also has volunteer surf lifesaving, and volunteer fire fighters, and some other emergency service volunteer organisations that vary from state to state. Volunteers are what keeps Australia's society functional. Every Aussie that lives long enough will find themselves volunteer working at something worthwhile at least once in their life. As for the use of the term Aussie, that's what we call ourselves, and anyone else can call us that, nothing offensive about it. Most true blue, fair dinkum Aussies are very difficult to offend. We're far more likely to get accused of being the offensive ones.
Yes Australia has a universal health system similar to Canada. However that doesn’t help if you live hundreds of miles from the nearest Doctor or hospital. Flynn set up the flying doctor as a charity exactly like the Red Cross. The service is free. It got Royal patronage as one of the first acts of the new Queen Elizabeth when she ascended the throne. She famously talked to a mother in a remote location over two way radio about her family health needs. Ever since the Governor General of the country and each of the Governors of each of the States are patrons of the service. This facilitates fund raising, and government cooperation in allowing access to airports, emergency use of air space, use of radio wavelengths, etc. There is more they do than in this video. Every remote station has a medical kit, and many emergencies are handled over the air due to time. I was working on a station in the 1980’s and a young guy was gored by a bull. He was brought into the kitchen and put on the big table. My role was holding one of his arms. Another guy held the other ones and our job was to keep eye contact with him and distract him by thinking of all the ridiculous things he could do to get the cook to touch him that did not involve a bull. Meanwhile in the background we could hear the cook on the radio with the flying Doctor. She was describing everything she could see. The service gives training in this. The Doctor talked her through how to use the medical kit to clean the wounds, and sew him up. All done over the air because of the urgency and nature of the problem. The flying Doctor flew in later to check on the patient, on his way to another patient a few hundred kilometers away. Another thing not mentioned is the invention of the pedal powered two way radio by the service. And getting those radios into the remote locations. Without that off-grid radio the Flying Doctor could not operate. It was then used to proved over the air education called The School of The Air to children in remote locations. People in the bush regard the RFDS with huge respect. Many bequeath large sums of money to the Flying Doc upon their death.
I broke my ankle after a fall. I was 9 hours away from home and was visiting family in remote NSW. The RFDS flew me home next day for my op. No cost to me as was hospital transfer. Maybe my private health insurance covered it through the hospital. That was a 3 hr flight with pain killers. They were great.
Many people outside of Australia and the UK may not realize that Australia is remarkably similar to the UK, sharing the same justice system, laws, and health service. In fact, numerous Australian court cases are adjudicated in the UK, setting precedents for both countries.In fact, I would go so far as to say that Australians are essentially British and the British are essentially Australians, as we use the same technology for many things.
Our Australia wide emergency services number is “000” which gives you access to request… Police, Fire, and Ambulance (which includes RFDS especially if you are in a remote locality). There are also 1800…… prefixed numbers that give you access to specific services such as the (RFDS) Royal Flying Doctor Services etc.
You ask about funding for RFDS. It is a mixed bag. The largest proportion comes from our Federal Govt. ( it is an Australia wide service). State Govt's. also contribute ( this video was for Qld.) who tend to fund specific programs eg; the dental service in this video provided by RFDS. They also recover some costs from private health insurers. They also receive substantial funds via public subscriptions/ memberships and donations and bequests. Our ambulance services generally have similar funding sources and RFDS is largely seen as an ambulance service at its core with funding for a variety of other services/programs from several sources.
If you ever make it to the outback, virtually all fund raising anywhere is for the RFDS. I have so many stories I could tell you. The medical chest is supplied with all the medications etc, you made need with instructions over the phone. An amazing service!
@Discovering NL with Kevin You will find Australians are not precious about being called Aussies at all to answer your question . In Australia the emergency number is not 911 but 000 A fortnight refers to 14 day time period and is used frequently in Britain , Australia and New Zealand often in reference for pay periods for salaries . For example I get paid once a fortnight . Hope this helps . Greetings from Melbourne Australia .
My involvement, while small, involved me as a Taxi Driver in Perth, Pre 2000. Finished a long shift Friday Night / Saturday Morning, Looking for any work to take me home to Southern Suburbs, when I get a "Contract Job", xxx Wellington Street > Jandakot. Knowing that any contract job that early on a Sunday, and that there had been a Mine site accident on the radio news, I knew it was Red Cross Blood Bank. Snatch the job, get over to the Red Cross, Blood Plasma products, and we have to get there before the planes land at the RFDS base. Luckily I lived 10 minutes from Jandakot airport, take supplies to the airport, Park up and watch the planes land. Then the Ambulances arrived. One cool feature, is the long interstate roads, such as the Nullabor, occasionally you see special markings on the road, where in cases of necessity, Local Police will come out and close the road, and the markings are to indicate aircraft landing sites, where the RFDS will use the highway as a Runway, Load up injured, and take back off again. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-iaL9CSq2V9Q.html
The RFDS will land on any suitable road. Police will block off traffic, lay flares, use car headlights if at night. The new Pilatus jet aircraft that can land and take off from dirt strips. Check out the history especially the pedal powered radios used in the early days. Another Australian institution is The School Of The Air. Children living in remote localities are taught over the 2 way radio, or now via internet.
Whilst that video was based on the state of Queensland RFDS be aware that it's national and there are quite a few really good vids out there to check out. Yes we have universal health like CAnada. Yes it's ok to call us Aussies. And yes the RFDS is totally free. When a patient is transported to a city or major regional hospital they are also picked up once they're well and dropped back home too which is pretty cool. One RFDS video shows among other things the medicine chest left at stations and other remote places. The medicines are numbered so when someone talks to the RFDS the doctor will say something like take number 8 twice a day or whatever. For so long it was a service totally reliant on donations which was tough but most Australians see what they do and are happy to donate. Was lovely to catch you I'll be back.
Yes we have universal healthcare and we can choose to have private insurance as wel. Dental and optical are covered for those on very low incomes and social welfare payments although the wait times for non emergency dental can be long. The Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme puts a cap on the cost of a lot of prescribed medicines. There are free screening programs, two I can think of are mammograms for breast cancer and test kits to use at home and mail in for bowel cancer. Ambulance is free in some states and in others you can take out ambulance insurance for about $50 a year for your family if you don’t have private health insurance. RFDS is free for those using it. They didn’t mention that they fly patients back to their local hospital or clinic afterwards. As well as landing strips in remote townships some large rural properties have their own strip. Remote highways have sections along them that are wider and marked out as landing strips. Michael’s story at the beginning, mustering cattle by helicopter is common on the large stations (ranches). Some of them are bigger than small countries. Anna Creek Station, the largest, is 23,677 sq. km. (nearly six million acres).
RFDS is a boon to our remote populations. Not sure if anybody has mentioned we also began 'School of the Air' for kids on those outback stations - used radio in the beginning. Many stations used to send their schoolies to boarding school - especially high school and older.
The RFDS is a free service to patients, thanks to generous donors and corporate partners; covering 70% of the program not covered by Medicare. Medicare is Australia's national health system. Australians are encouraged to have Private Health insurance to cover all non Medicare services.
The Royal Flying Doctor Service not only provides 24/7 emergency aeromedical evacuations throughout outback Australia, it also provide primary healthcare, regional medical clinics, dental service, mental health service and both pre & post natal services. They are basically a hospital with wings, where you can get the same services as metropolitan and regional hospitals.
You are welcome to call us Aussies, but I want to clarify something: I've heard a few from the US pronounce it with a 'soft s' in the middle, as in "Oss-ee". That sounds funny to us (funny odd, not funny haha) so make sure you pronounce it "Ozz-ee"! Also we say "zed" for the last letter of the alphabet, not "zee". What does Canada use?
My wife and I visited my son at St. Anthony, in 2010, from Australia. He and his wife were reporters for the Northern Pen newspaper. At the time the big story was the Canadian Flying Doctor Service were transferring their base of operations in NL from St. Anthony to, I think, Goose Bay. So, I guess Canada has its own form of our RFDS. The RDFS is free and is funded by both the federal government and by public donation. By the way, the wife and I stayed for a fortnight (Yep, two weeks.) and absolutely loved NL, the people and the Qidi Vidi Brewing Co's Honey Brown Ale. You can't get much further from Australia, 11 and a half time zones one way and 12 and a half the other and you all stand the wrong way up.
The Royal Flying Doctor service was given the Royal warrant by Queen Elizabeth 2 in 1954 during the Royal visit. We are happy for anyone to call us Aussies. That’s us! Funding of the RFDS is through grants and donations.
To really understand the RFDS you need to see where these stories are on a map because Australia is around the same size as the Mainland USA with 90% of its population on the coasts. Lots of Remote Cattle Stations have telephones but smaller farms, 4WDers, etc use RFDS HF Radios that basically operate on similar to Amateur Radio HF Frequencies.
Hi, this is an awesome service. Yes we have universal health care. Queen Elizabeth II in 1954 gave the assent for the Royal name. Look into this more and you'll really discover more. Another remote service is the School of the Air is worth looking at too, cheers
Glad you enjoyed it. Watching the RFDS land on an unmade road to attend an incident pretty well sums up their remarkables skills. Beyond the RFDS are the remote nursing stations where only a nurse on 24 hour call out is available. Next, school of the air.
The one and only tome I have experienced the RFDS was when while working on a cattle station (ranch) we had a new worker stay with us for a few days while waiting for a lift to the main station,a few of the boys got drunk one night and thus guy got into an argument with one of our workers, to cut a long storey short he found an adze and hit the other guy in the temple while he was sleeping, we put flares on the runway as it was about 2am, the guy had taken of and was somewhere in the vicinity so myself and another guy had to guard the plane until the RFDS could leave with our co worker, they took off and the guy gave himself up to the local police sergent at daybreak, our co worker survived but had some brain damage unfortunately.
@@discoveringnlwithkevin Yep he was only very lucky guy, the RFDS is awesome, after a night like that we still had cattle in the yards so we had to work the next day as well.
Yes, two weeks is called "fortnight", very rarely two-weeks.ost Australians ("Aussies") get paid fortnightly - once every two weeks. The term "Aussie" is for everybody, it's not an insult etc, or for Australians only. Everybody on the planet can use it (and most do).
It was a visit from the Queen to the Flying Doctor’s Broken Hill base in 1954, less than eight months after her coronation, that would result in the Royal Assent being given to our organisation, a name change, and a link that has continues today.
You also have to consider those who are pensioners or have a low income health care card. Th great majority of all health care is covered by the government health care body called Medicare. This includes very reduced fees on medications at the chemist.
We also have care flight, volounteer pilots, to take patients to regular appointments, like chemo etc. Some live days away from big hospitals, by road. My uncle used to say, that's fortnight tea, too weak. Yes you can call us your aussie mates. We have medicare, with rebates for some doctor visits, free limited dental for pensioners. They don't do complex proceedures, often just pull the tooth. They can do dentures.
The Flying Doctor Service was given their Royal title when Queen Elizabeth II visited the Flying Doctor base at Broken Hill, New South Wales in 1954; eight months after her coronation. The RFDS receives support from goverments, but the majority comes from fundraising and donations; which bridges the gap in operational funding, and aircraft replacement, medical equipment plus other major capital initiatives.
There is a vlog which shows the origin of the RFDS service right through from 1928 to 2022. The Royal moniker was added to the name in 1955 by Royal decree.
We also have a Volunteer Search & Rescue Service, they are called the SES (State Emergency Service), and their just as crucial to our Country as the RFDS (Royal Flying Doctor Service). There is about 43,000 SES Volunteers Australia wide. The SES is a hugh support to our Firies during Summer, they make up most of our Firies fighting our Bush fires. They work closely with all our Emergency Services, I'm sure that would include the RFDS. The SES also will help at road accidents, floods or any Natural or Manmade disaster you can probably think of, our SES is probably involved in some way. They come from all over the Country to help when needed.
Some years ago - I can't remember when - the US space shuttle had problems and NASA were looking for alternative landing sites. Australia was Plan B, because the RFDS could be literally anywhere within a couple of hours.
Yes. You can call Australians "Aussies" and a 'fortnight; means once every two weeks.. so another term is bi-monthly. Initially it was the FDS until it got the Royal standard and became the RFDS. There are heaps of links that expand on the RFDS does. It started in 1912
Yes call us Aussies not Ozzy, we shorten everything it stops the flies getting in our mouth 👄 GP- general practitioner Always fortnight never 2 weeks. Dental service. Etc etc We are so proud of our RFD, royal Flying doctor. Adelaide South Australia 🌏🌏🦘🦘
Our universal health care covers most medical care, some limited dental care, optical and mental health care options but mostly for the underprivileged … it’s a pretty awesome system
Fortnight = 2 weeks. And yeah, it's used a LOT. Wages are paid every week or once in 2 weeks (fortnightly). Govt payments and employees are paid fortnightly as are most bank employees Australia has universal healthcare, volunteer surf rescue, and Royal in front of everything. RAAF, RSPCA, RFDS, Royal [fill in the blank] Hospital, Royal [fill in the blank] Golf/Yacht/Automobile Club etc
RFDS started by using a pedal radio, a 2 way long distance radio powered by pedalling, a bit like the old sewing machines, remember this was pre WW2. These same radios were then used for teaching children on remote stations (farms) via the School of the Air. School of the Air still exists, tho it is now using satellite internet with 2-way video. Often primary school kids will use it, before going to boarding school for high school (or sometimes just their senior years).
There are a few videos on the RFDS. This one is Queensland based, but it is Australia wide. There are two others, that I have seen, one of, goes more in depth into the workings. I can not give you a link to one of the better ones at this time.
911 is 000 in Australia, & yes a fortnight is normally used instead of two weeks, Universal Health service is a Federal government body in conjunction with each state government health service, you pay for it through your tax, you can also supplement that with private health insurance, certain items are not available under federal health like dental, chiropractic care unless you are a retired pensioner, or a medical condition that prevents you be able to work.
The health depts in each state fund the RFDS to a major degree but there are also fund-raisers conducted to get donations from the public especially when a new plane is wanted. I only hope the latest generation of city dwellers will appreciate the RFDS, as they are an insular lot. Most donations will come from country people and maybe FIFOs.
I had a heart attack when working remotely and was airlifted to the Adelaide Hospital where I stayed for three weeks For all that I only paid $27 for meds
"The Australian Government has funded the RFDS since 1932 through various funding arrangements." You will not get a bill from the RFDS for your service. It is a wonderful service that speaks loudly to the fact that Australians care about each other at this basic level. If you are sick and need help, the rest of Australia is there to help. A fabulous icon.
The Reverend John Flynn had worked in rural and remote areas of Victoria and was commissioned by the Presbyterian Church to look at the needs of people living in the outback. In 1928, he formed the AIM Aerial Medical Service, a one-year experiment based in Cloncurry, Queensland. This experiment later became The Royal Flying Doctor Service.
We also have a universal healthcare system ( funded mainly by a 2% separate income tax levy). We also have a large private sector ie: it is a mixed system with a gradual move towards private ( depending on Govt. ideology).
Australians are super relaxed with language. We shorten everything (except when we add extra bits to it 😂). And we are hard to offend and are happy to speak our mind (while not expecting the listener to get offended.).
fortnight is two weeks, we use it all the time. Aussies, yep that's our name. Totally free to all Australians. Roads are widened to make strips & most big stations have RFDS capable airstrips.
"Humans are social beings and we are wired for connection" This statement hits home, I can imagine, for so many people. I felt your emotion, and I can feel your compassion and I also can see your strength.🙏
As an Aussie I never talk about 2 weeks, it's always a fortnight. I was paid fortnightly, paid off my home loan every fortnight and made plans to meet my friends in a fortnight. It was only a couple of years ago that I discovered that most of the rest of the world talks about a 2 week period rather than fortnight.
Ha! I’m an etymology nerd, but fortnight is so ubiquitous here that I only just this minute thought it through as a contraction of ‘fourteen nights’. Thanks for that mate, dunno exactly why but I really enjoy your videos. Got a feeling in me waters that there’s some odd commonalities between NL and non-big-city ‘Straya. Just got yerself a sub.
Fortnight is fourteen nights ie 2 weeks. Fortnightly is what you probably call "every other week" but we would never use the "every other" phrase in relation to time whether it's days weeks or months. We say every 2nd day, every fortnight, fortnightly, or every 2 months etc.
