Beautiful picture of dying woman’s last wish inspires new service
If you don’t remember the beautiful story of two paramedics fulfilling a dying woman’s last wish, then allow for a refresher.
Two Queensland ambulance crew took a terminally ill woman to a trip to the beach for the very last time.
The QAS posted a bittersweet snap of the moment while the patient overlooked the water at a beach in Hervey Bay, just north of Brisbane.
Helen Donaldson, the Officer in charge of Hervey Bay, posted a pic of the trip on Facebook with the hospital bed overlooking the ocean.
“She just wished she could be at the beach again,” the post reads.
“Above and beyond, the crew took a small diversion to the awesome beach at Hervey Bay to give the patient this opportunity.”
The beautiful moment turned out to tug on the heartstrings of the state government as well as the Queensland Ambulance service who have teamed up to launch a new Wish ambulance.
The service will be used to grant wishes for terminally ill and to take Queenslanders who need care on important journeys before they die - whether that be one last trip to a sentimental place or to their grandkids for the last time.
The new Wish ambulance will be staffed by volunteer paramedics and run by Palliative Care Queensland who will begin the service towards the end of the year.
The Wish service is a first for Australia and will run out of a decommissioned but fully functional ambulance donated by the Queensland Ambulance Service along with a $55,000 donation by the government to be used for seed funding.
Health Minister Steven Miles said the heartwarming story that came out of Hervey Bay resonated with so many people.
"Our ambos have been doing these kinds of things forever really," he said on Thursday.
"But they've had to sneak around and when they've been busy they haven't been able to do it."