Trucking health services to remote Queensland

Heart of Australia’s HEART 4 truck hits the road to bring life-saving services to remote and rural Queensland.

Heart of Australia has launched its latest custom-built mobile clinic, offering life-saving specialist medical services to rural and remote Queensland. The new mobile facility, dubbed HEART 4, will service towns from the Mackay region to Cape York Peninsula, providing residents with access to cardiology, sonography, cardiac monitoring, sleep diagnostics and respiratory services.

Map showing routes of Heart of Australia trucks.

The HEART 4 truck is a custom, 34-wheel articulated rig built to the standard B-double road train measurements of 26 m. The fourth truck has two consult rooms, two tech rooms, waiting area verandahs, a wheelchair access lift, a full kitchen, AV systems with screens and projectors, a reception area, full air-conditioning and toilet facilities. HEART 4 can be self-powered for up to 10 days using diesel, batteries and solar panels. More than $1 million worth of medical and IT equipment is kept on board.

A look inside the HEART 4 truck.

To date, the fleet of Heart of Australia trucks has travelled more than 500,000 km, saving more than 400 lives.

Dr Rolf Gomes, founder of Heart of Australia, treats Brian Milner, an 80-year-old cardiac patient from Springsure.

The Australian Government is investing $12 million to support and expand the Heart of Australia program, including the delivery of the service’s fourth mobile medical clinic to access the new route across northern Queensland.

Top image caption: Cardiologist Dr Rolf Gomes is the founder and Director of Heart of Australia. His vision is to revolutionise the delivery of first-class specialty services to rural and remote communities.