The Alfred, Melbourne

With the support of the Dry July Foundation The Alfred has installed a new sky ceiling to help patients feel at ease while undergoing radiotherapy treatment. By offering this room with a view we hope to be able to improve the overall experience a person has when being treated for cancer.

The caring and committed team of doctors, nurses and specialists working within our cancer services are continually looking at ways to improve their patients’ experience. The implementation of the sky ceiling panels above the radiotherapy machine will help do that. Patients could be undergoing treatment for up to 40 minutes, now they can look up and concentrate on the sky, the shapes of the clouds or the colours in the trees. It will give them something else to focus on, a distraction. Changes like this in healthcare settings have been proven to lower blood pressure, speed up recovery times and reduce overall stress and anxiety.

The project is possible because of a generous donation from the Dry July Foundation. We are very excited to be part of Dry July again in 2019. Dry July raises funds to improve the lives of adults living with cancer through an online social community and health awareness initiative that encourages people to get their family, friends and work colleagues to sponsor them to give up booze for the month of July.

We are so grateful to everyone who supported Dry July and The Alfred in making the lives of those affected by cancer a little better and a little brighter. The new sky ceiling may be a small change in a small room but it provides a window to a much bigger and kinder world.

A cancer diagnosis and a prolonged and intensive confinement to hospital can take an immense toll on a young adult’s life. Thanks to the Dry July Foundation and the amazing people who abstained from drinking throughout Dry July. plus the contribution of a number of community fundraisers, The Alfred has been able to implement a new adolescence and young adult’s breakout area and provide a space where they can relax and act their age.

The Alfred treats thousands of adult patients living with cancer but the needs of someone who is 19 vary dramatically to that of a 49-year-old. There has been growing recognition in recent years of the unique medical, psychosocial and information needs of adolescents and young adults diagnosed with cancer. To deliver appropriate care to this unique patient group, we need to have an appreciation of how their age and stage of life may impact their distress levels, self-esteem, peer relationships, self-identity and perceptions of future.  

Thanks to the dedication of nursing staff on Ward 7East who were passionate about creating a better environment for their patients, and the support of the Dry July Foundation, a newly refurbished Ward 7East has the addition of a dedicated area for adolescence and young adults. Brigitte Mahony a social worker at Alfred Health believes this bright new space will give our young adult patients a place to go and explore their feelings or spend their time, it will give them access to engage in normal, everyday activity with their friends and peers and help distract them. “The planning of the room has taken years of consideration with numerous disciplines and professions contributing. The implementation of the adolescence and young adult area is a first for The Alfred and will be truly beneficial for our patients.” Added Brigitte. 

Ward 7East nurse and Dry July participant, Simone Waterman is also excited about the new space. “Having cared for a number of young patients and looked after the families for a long time I felt there was more we could do to support them. Taking part in Dry July gave me an opportunity to join others to make a real difference, my fundraising helped build something that may distract someone from their day to day medical needs or the effects of their treatment. I am so pleased with the result.” 

The space is furnished with comfortable seating, tables to study or play games around and a Smart TV so patients can access streaming services and simply chill and zone out, leaving behind the worries of their treatment and illness. This amazing new facility will make a positive impact and real difference on the care we are able to provide.  

Thank you so much to everyone who helped fund the adolescence and young adult’s area. We appreciate your contribution and acknowledge your support may have been one of first-hand experience; a former patient, a thankful family. It is through the generosity of others that we are able to continue to innovate and improve, offering an even better level of service and care to patients now and in the years to come. 

With funds raised by supporters of The Alfred during Dry July 2018, plus a grant from the Dry July Foundation, the cancer services team at The Alfred have been able to provide rural and regional patients with ‘hotel style’ accommodation close to the hospital.

Jo Matchado is the social worker in charge and said, 'This initiative provides many individuals and their families financial relief when it comes to accessing accommodation. Being based close to the hospital is important due to commitments of attending appointments at the Haematology/Oncology Clinic as outpatients, when they don’t live near by the cost of this either falls to the patient and their family or they have to stay in hospital. It is wonderful to be able to give them less to worry about.'

Thank you to everyone who went dry in July 2018 to raise funds for this project.  We are so pleased to be able to ease the burden cancer treatment has on some of our patients. 

Unfortunately, cancer diagnosis for the young adult population has increased over the years. Here at The Alfred we identified a need to further support this unique patient group.

With an average length of stay at any one time for these admissions to be 35 days, a cancer diagnosis and a prolonged and intensive confinement to hospital can take an immense toll on a young adults life. 

The team on 7East made a commitment to make a positive impact and improvement on not only patients physical outcomes but also their psychosocial ones, during and post treatment for the young adult cohort. This involves specifically trained staff, which have nursing and social work backgrounds and will roll out education tools to assist staff.  

Thanks to a grant from the Dry July Foundation, we now an area specifically designed for the young adult patients and their families. By providing them with a dedicated space we hope to ease the anxiety experienced by our patients and improve their stay in hospital.  

Social worker, Brigitte Mahoney, says, 'The tailor made space came from a realisation that the adolescent and young adult population (AYA) have unique and complex psychosocial needs and provide them with a comfortable environment, in an adult hospital. The planning of the room has taken years of consideration with numerous disciplines and professions contributing. The implementation of the AYA area is a first for The Alfred which I know will benefit our AYA population in the years to come.'

We're proud to announce that The Alfred, Melbourne has received a grant from the Dry July Foundation 2018 Grant Program.

The grant will go towards the following: 

• Patient accommodation for rural and regional patients, providing with ‘hotel style’ accommodation close to the hospital