For immediate release
29 August 2008

Telstra Child Flight airlifts premature Port Macquarie baby

A Port Macquarie family required the assistance of the Telstra Child Flight emergency helicopter service to airlift their premature baby to Royal Prince Alfred Hospital for intensive care treatment.

Baby Oliver was born at 34 weeks and was suffering severe breathing difficulties as a result of his premature birth.

Doctors at Port Macquarie Base Hospital advised that the newborn would require specialist treatment and contacted Telstra Child Flight to ensure Oliver’s immediate transport to Sydney.

Telstra Child Flight is the only emergency helicopter transport service of its nature in the Southern Hemisphere dedicated solely to the retrieval of kids.

There are only ten hospitals across NSW and the ACT that can provide neonatal and paediatric care. All of these hospitals are located in metropolitan areas. Telstra Child Flight ensures that critically ill and injured children who live in remote and regional areas have access to the vital lifesaving services and equipment found only in these metropolitan hospitals.

Oliver underwent CPAP treatment which is a technique of respiratory therapy, in which airway pressure is maintained throughout the respiratory cycle of the patient to assist and ensure continued breathing.

Oliver will require a brief stay in hospital before he will be able to join his expectant family eagerly awaiting his return home.

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For more information, interviews or photo opportunities:
Kate Sincic
P 02 4385 2696
M 0422 619 788
E ksincic@brilliantlogic.com.au