The AMS KwaZulu-Natal Operations is contracted to government on two comprehensive programmes, the ‘Flying Doctor Service’ (FDS) and the emergency ‘aero-medical service’. As manager of the region I bear the responsibility to be accountable for and oversee all operations.

On the health support FDS programme the manager has to liaise with heads of health departments to jointly manage and match the changing needs of health to that of the resources available. This involves constant communication with hospital managers, health care practitioner groups for the private and public sectors, medical universities, religious groups, volunteers and other non-profit organisations. With the exodus of qualified medical staff from the country makes the task of meeting the health care needs of the province a real challenge and through AMS we can afford health care practitioners a medium of bridging the divide and providing a means of access to scarce resources. Therefore, logistical management of the aircrafts and ground units together with pilot needs and compliance with the stringent aviation industry needs becomes a core focus.

The emergency aero-medical service demands greater attention for the daily operations with the three dedicated aircraft, special medical equipment and appropriately qualified staff. Negotiation and diplomacy skills are often required when dealing with the various health facilities and officials that are governed by the bureaucratic processes. The job entails attending regular committee meetings, planning and monitoring utilisation of resources, budgeting and cost recovery processes, financial planning, infrastructure development planning, resource allocation and training. However, the human resources tends to be the biggest challenge to manage with more than 25 full-time staff and hundreds of health specialists and volunteers that need support. One needs to be energetic, strong willed, patient and positive in the KZN setting.

The environment is hugely challenging but equally rewarding.