Christmas Appeal 2022

Cost: $19,000

This life-size baby manikin has a computerised interface which is used to teach clinical and decision-making skills during realistic scenarios. Nursing and medical staff will use the manikin to learn how to recognise a deteriorating infant or young patient and to work on skills such as nasogastric insertion, intubation, catheter insertion and much more. It will also benefit patients and their families because staff will be able to develop their clinical skills in a safe and realistic environment.

Emma Wooldridge
Paediatric Clinical Nurse Educator
Paediatric Unit
Hornsby Ku-ring-gai Hospital

Cost: $2,500

Maintaining muscle tone and keeping as active as possible is the best way to prevent some physical health complications while staying at the AYAH. The bike will serve a great diversional therapy purpose for our young patients while allowing them to exercise in the comfort of the facility. It will be used with expert instruction from our team of allied health professionals including physiotherapists and occupational therapists. The bike will eliminate any anxieties our patients have about keeping mobile, and will help to create a comfortable environment.

Geoff Yates
Nurse Unit Manager
Adolescent and Young Adult Hospice, Manly

Cost: $1,000

Our patients often spend a long time in the ward so sometimes their families bring them comfort food and home cooked meals. A new fridge would be frequently used by our patients on the ward to store these special treats from their loved ones. These kinds of comforts can be so important for the mental health and wellbeing of our cancer patients who are in recovery or for those in palliative care.

Louise Carolan
Acting Nurse Unit Manager
Division of Cancer, Haematology, and Palliative Care
Royal North Shore Hospital

Cost: $100,000

This machine provides novel research capacity that crosses disciplines and supports research across the Kolling Institute including musculoskeletal, neuroscience and pain, pharmacology and ageing. It will also enhance the translational impact of our pre-clinical research. This machine would be unique in NSW and one of only seven in Australia, so it will increase our national and international competitiveness in grant funding, enhance collaboration and increase the opportunity for industry partnerships.

Professor Chris Little
Director
Raymond Purves Bone and Joint Research Laboratory
Kolling Institute

Cost: $4,500

OT Draw is a computer program that helps occupational therapists (OTs) to create clear and accurate diagrams of home modifications for their patients. Having this on a new laptop to take into patients’ homes will allow our OTs to work collaboratively with patients and ensure they can visualise and understand the design of their home. OT Draw will save our staff time and it is easy to use. We will be able to draw bathroom modifications, new floorplans, stair and access ramp diagrams and much more – all within one session.

Jessica Hinidza
Occupational Therapist
Community Aged Care and Rehabilitation Service
Ryde Hospital

Cost: $60,000

Coral Tree Family Service provides support to children with severe behavioural, emotional and relationship difficulties, and their families. A key focus of ours is to work collaboratively with schools, parents and carers to help children have greater success in all aspects of their life. Supporting children to get outdoors and be more active is integral to this process and to their wellbeing. Currently, there is no facility for children to do this so a multi-purpose synthetic field would give children the opportunity to strengthen their social skills while staying physically active.

Cathryn McElroy
Service Manager
Coral Tree Family Service

Cost: $280,000

Our current microscope is 17 years old and we need a new one to bring an appropriate level of technology to the technically demanding ear surgery we are doing at RNSH. We are one of the busiest public endoscopic units in Australia. High quality endoscopic and microscopic equipment is required to see the intricacies of a disease and the new microscope will improve vision and therefore, patient outcomes. Furthermore, the high-quality camera will provide unsurpassed recording quality for teaching purposes.

Dr Nirmal Patel
Clinical Associate Professor
Division of Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery
Royal North Shore Hospital

Cost: $5,000

A capnograph is a device that rapidly measures respiratory health to assist us in responding when patients are not breathing normally. It measures the amount of carbon dioxide in exhaled air and provides real-time data. Having a portable capnograph in the ICU would allow us to safely transfer patients who might be deteriorating while being moved to and from tests or other departments during a medical emergency. It would help us to provide the best possible care to patients who come through our ICU.

Dr Ivana Kliman
Director
Intensive Care Unit
Hornsby Ku-ring-gai Hospital

Cost: $730,000

Multiplex imaging is becoming a highly sought-after technique that helps researchers examine precious human tissue specimens. This machine will be useful for a large number of scientific laboratories spread across diverse research areas, e.g., cancer research, bone regeneration, neurology, pain and cardiology. Having this machine will further foster research collaboration between the hospital and our research labs. Our location at the Kolling Institute provides an ideal opportunity to use this technique on precious human specimens obtained from clinics close by at Royal North Shore Hospital.

Dr Sumit Sahni
Senior Cancer Research Fellow
Kolling Institute

Cost: $10,000

We would like to give trauma victims the opportunity to get back on their feet immediately by being able to access things like mobile phones, meals, clothing etc.
Often women present to the emergency department when they are fleeing from domestic violence so it would be invaluable to provide these women with something to help when they are discharged. These vouchers would make such a positive difference to patients’ lives and help them in their recovery.

Dr Christine Bowles
Trauma and Emergency Physician
Emergency Department
Royal North Shore Hospital

Cost: $800

We would like to create a simulation bathroom in the rehabilitation ward at Ryde Hospital to support patients before they are discharged. By practicing here in the hospital, patients will gain confidence with getting in and out of a bath or a shower over bath, if they have one at home. It will also allow our Rehabilitation Occupational Therapists to properly assess and trial equipment and rails, to make sure patients returning home are safe and independent. This equipment will ultimately give patients and therapists confidence in achieving safe discharge from hospital to home.

Katie Grattan-Smith
Unit Head
Occupational Therapy
Ryde Hospital

Cost: $5,000

We have listened to children’s voices and they have told us that more fun artwork would be a welcome distraction and make the ward look “prettier and happier”. We would like to introduce more art and murals in an Australiana theme for our ward to make it look less clinical for the children who spend time here.
Research has also shown that art eases anxiety, stress and depression for both patients and staff so it would be lovely to have more colourful art for everyone.

Louise Robinson
Nurse Unit Manager
Paediatric Unit
Hornsby Ku-ring-gai Hospital