Professor Geoff Dobb, Dr Stephen Langford and Sam Walsh Rio Tinto will contribute $4.85 million to the Royal Flying Doctor Service in WA to provide the first emergency jet service in Australia.

The Rio Tinto Life Flight jet will be able to fly anywhere in WA within three hours – halving travel times to some remote areas, such as the Kimberley.

The RFDS will contribute the remaining $6.4 million required to establish the service.

RFDS chief executive Tim Shackleton said the partnership was a ground-breaking move for emergency aeromedical services.

“This is a great leap forward for the RFDS, and a dream come true for people in the bush,” Mr Shackleton said.

“The the invaluable support of Rio Tinto we will be able to deliver a a faster, more effective service to very sick people, especially those who need transport over the exceptionally long distances unique to Western Australia.”

The rapid expansion of communities in regions such as the Pilbara, Kimberley and Gascoyne has created an urgent need for this service.

In 2007 more than 1000 patients were transferred from the Pilbara and Kimberley to Perth.

The Rio Tinto Life Flight jet is expected to be flying by the end of the year, gradually increasing to 1000 operating hours each year.