RUBIE to the rescue of sick and premature babies

NeoRESQ Medical Director, Dr Lucy Cooke with team members Li-An and Billy and vehicles RUBIE and RAPLH.

Critically ill and premature babies will reach specialised care faster with the launch of Queensland’s first neonatal emergency vehicle, donated by national charity Running for Premature Babies.

The vehicle, affectionately named ‘RUBIE’, short for ‘Retrieving Unwell Babies in Emergencies’, will be based at Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital (RBWH) and operated by NeoRESQ, the statewide neonatal retrieval service.

NeoRESQ Medical Director Dr Lucy Cooke said RUBIE will reduce delays in retrievals, allowing teams to leave RBWH within 15 minutes instead of waiting for an ambulance to become available.

“The new vehicle will improve our responsiveness to reach critically unwell or premature babies, as we will now have a team and a vehicle available. It will also free up the Queensland Ambulance Service to respond to emergencies in the community,” Dr Cooke said.

“RUBIE is the next big step for our service and will have a huge impact on the families that we look after, significantly improving the care that we can provide.”

In 2025, NeoRESQ retrieved 773 babies from 48 facilities for specialist treatment. While some travelled by plane or helicopter, approximately 70 per cent were transported by road.

RBWH Foundation CEO Simone Garske said it was an honour to connect Running for Premature Babies with Queensland’s largest hospital.

“Providing our tiniest patients with the best possible start in life is the most extraordinary gift,” Ms Garske said.

“We are thrilled to have Running for Premature Babies donate this vehicle in recognition of the life-saving work of NeoRESQ and the unique service they offer.”

Running for Premature Babies is a charity that was founded by Sophie Smith OAM in 2006 after losing her three prematurely born triplets, Henry, Jasper and Evan. Since then, they have directly helped over 21,000 sick and premature babies.

“In our 20th year, it means so much to once again support NeoRESQ with a second neonatal vehicle, helping reach babies born prematurely when every minute matters,” Sophie said.

In 2020, Running for Premature Babies donated the first vehicle called RALPH (‘Returning All the Little People Home’), which transports babies to hospitals closer to home, following treatment at specialist hospitals such as RBWH.