Calvary Mater Newcastle Hospital

We're pleased to announce that Calvary Mater Newcastle has received an additional grant from the Dry July Foundation October grant round.

This grant will enable new items for the Occupational Therapy Oncology Loan Pool

This is a comprehensive service that is provided free of charge to any Calvary Mater Newcastle oncology outpatient receiving treatment. Equipment includes: wheelchairs, pressure cushions, shower chairs, commodes, raised toilet seats, portable ramps, bathboards, swivel bathseats, to name but a few.

At any one point in time up to 300 patients can be benefiting from this pivotal service

The fantastic fundraising efforts of Dry July 2019 participants have meant the Dry July Foundation can fund the following items at Calvary Mater Newcastle Hospital:

• Blanket Warmer for the Melanoma Unit

• Five chemotherapy treatment chairs for the Day Treatment Centre to replace older style that are worn out. These new chairs have silica upholstery and built in multimedia platform.

Dry July 2019 funds will be put to good use at Calvary Mater Newcastle Hospital's Haematology Ward (5C), funding the following items:

o General Equipment for the ward including comfort furniture and furnishings e.g. leg rests, cushions, wedges and fans 

o Bariatric Equipment for Loan Pool, to keep up with demand for general equipment for larger patients

o A Portable O2 Concentrator Pack: Portable oxygen so patients can move around/sit outside with visitors etc.

o Two SAM Overlay Mattresses to provide comfort and pressure redistribution

o A TIS Electric Mobile Shower Commode to assist less able patients when showering

o Five fully positional specialist electric patient chairs

Thanks to the fundraising of Dry July participants in 2019, the Oncology Ward (Ward 5B) at Calvary Mater Newcastle Hospital will be able to fund the following:

o Communication Boards: Dry wipe boards to help non-verbal (Tracheotomy) patients communicate with doctors, nurses, family and friends while staying on the ward

o Comfort care items for patients to make their stay on the ward more comfortable, including rechargeable hand held fans, eye masks and ear plugs.

The Calvary Mater Newcastle Day Treatment Centre is pleased to be able to provide our patients with a little more comfort with the procurement of two new chemotherapy treatment chairs thanks to Dry July fundraising. Not only do the chairs reduce the risk of pressure injuries for those patients receiving long treatments but they provide a place where patients can charge personal devices and a platform to support them. 

Marissa Ledlin, Nurse Unit Manager of the Day Treatment Centre, comments, “Many of our patients are required to sit in the treatment chair for up to nine hours so it’s essential that they are very comfortable. Our new chairs with the silica upholstery are that and more – we call them the Rolls Royce of our chairs.”  

The purchase of these chairs would not have been possible without the kind support of local Dry July fundraiser Emily Poulos and the Dry July Foundation