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Swift air crash aid |
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AN Army Reserve critical care specialist, who was deployed during the Bali bombings, was again sent to Indonesia to assist Australians injured in the Yogyakarta air crash. HQ Norcom’s Maj Malcolm Johnston-Leek, a doctor in the emergency department at Royal Darwin Hospital, deployed at short notice with an aeromedical evacuation (AME) team on March 7. The AME team – which included 19 Air Force members and a civilian – left Darwin in a RAAF Hercules and arrived in Yogyakarta 12½ hours after the accident. “In the team there was a doctor, nurse and a couple of medics ... and I went as the enhanced medical element,” Maj Johnston-Leek said. At Yogyakarta the team discovered that the injured four Australians had already left the area. “All the people off the aircraft initially went to the TNI Air Force hospital at the Yogyakarta airport. They were then sent on to other hospitals,” he said. His role changed to identifying all of the injured passengers in five hospitals. Maj Johnston-Leek said the deployment was different to his Bali bombing experience due to the nature of the injuries and the number of people injured. “In the crash there were less people injured, but that was good,” he said. “This time we didn’t provide treatment as we did in Bali one and two, but I think we are actually getting better at deploying, because we were mobilised and got there quickly. The Indonesians were much more organised this time [as well].” On the flight home, the team was placed on standby to assist victims of Cyclone George, although its services were not required. Maj Johnston-Leek was also kept on standby to be called out for Cyclone Jacob, before being stood down on March 12. Sqn-Ldr Russell Brown, AME team OC, said the mission was a success, even though few patients were treated. “I think we feel very positive about getting there with such a robust team,” he said. “We were able to provide a medical response to the Australians … it went quickly and smoothly.” |