You never know when you or a loved one will need medical help. The Westpac Rescue Helicopter is arguably the most well-known charity organisation in the medical transport space.

Little Wings is another not-for-profit charity that supports families in regional NSW with sick children to access lifesaving treatment.

Little Wings provides free air and ground transportation to medical treatment for children living in rural and remote areas. Little Wings also transports clinicians to rural and remote areas to provide health services to children in those areas.

This week, Little Wings received a major boost after Minister for Regional Health Ryan Park announced $600,000 in funding. This is in addition to $600,000 provided in 2024.

In 2024/2025, with the support of the state government, Little Wings has to date:

• Transported 439 children from regional, rural and remote NSW to receive medical treatment
• Transported 64 medical specialists to rural and remote NSW who have delivered 170 clinics which have assisted an estimated 3,250 children.
• Flown to 51 locations across rural, regional and remote NSW

Lismore families have used Little Wings' services in the past. Three-year-old Emily Kirkland was the first Lismore patient to be transferred to Sydney for specialist medical treatment in 2013, and seven-year-old Mahalia was transferred to Westmead Children's Hospital in 2020 after being diagnosed with a neurological disorder.

Services provided by the charity are available to eligible families living in rural, regional and remote NSW whose children are receiving treatment or support at health services, including:

• Sydney Children's Hospital, Randwick
• The Children's Hospital at Westmead
• John Hunter Children’s Hospital
• Royal Far West in Manly.

Children are referred to the Little Wings service by hospital staff with consideration to the child’s medical condition, geographical location and regularity of travel. For more information , visit: https://www.littlewings.org.au/. 

Minister for Health Ryan Park said, “I am so pleased to support Little Wings in their work, which is helping to ease the emotional and financial strain placed on families when they are accessing lifesaving medical treatment for a sick child.

“This important service supports families living in rural, regional and remote areas of NSW to more easily attend ongoing medical appointments, and also offers a welcome break to children during their treatment, by bringing them home for some much-needed quality time with family and friends.

“Little Wings is staffed 100 per cent by volunteer pilots and drivers, and I’d like to extend my sincere gratitude to those dedicated staff for their ongoing commitment to supporting these families in their time of need.”

Clare Pearson, CEO Little Wings said, “Little Wings has been operating for 13 years, working in the background to support regional families caring for a seriously ill or injured child in accessing lifesaving medical treatment that is only available at tertiary hospital.

“With the changing landscape of regional health, it is the support and funding of the NSW Health Minister, Ryan Park, and his vision to partner with purpose to ensure equitable care for families, that will transform healthcare for NSW.

“Little Wings is a proud and deeply grateful part of this vision, providing FREE air and ground transport for regionalfamilies, this grant will allow our team to work with urgency and to increase services in line with community needs and to ensure that children in regional NSW have the access to healthcare that they need to thrive.”