The Royal Melbourne Hospital

Ward 7B is a 32 bed ward providing cancer services at The Royal Melbourne Hospital. 

On behalf of the staff and patients at The Royal Melbourne Hospital, we just wish to say a huge thank you for your support for Ward 7B in the 2017 Dry July campaign. We were absolutely thrilled to receive these funds and have attached below some feedback from the ward.

Couches: Thank you for your support in gathering funds to support our patients, families and ward environment. The couches for the patients' family room will provide seating for patients and families at the end of the corridor where there is a view over Parkville and the family room for time out for patients. This will create a lovely space on the ward.

Clocks: The clocks were recommended to us by a patient. The ones that were purchased are different in each of the rooms and silent. The patients are very happy with this as they can often minimum of 3 weeks as an inpatient in their rooms.

Sit Stand desk: The sit stand desk is to support patients who are receiving treatment and working. It is a table that can be adjusted as a work station and is easy to clean so other patients can use. It fits a small computer or laptop.

Recliners: The recliners have provided so much comfort and support for patients. These a designed to also reduce pressure injuries. Patients when they are unwell, are able to still sit out of bed in these chairs and can easily be transferred back to bed.

Your support and commitment to The Royal Melbourne Hospital is so invaluable to us and we thank you again! We look forward to updating you again in due course.

Royal Melbourne Hospital used Dry July funding toward the refurbishment of the Palliative Care Ward. A number of day care services were relocated, freeing up space in the ward which was converted into an additional 4 single rooms, dramatically increasing services.

We'd like to extend a big thanks to an extra special group of girls, who on Friday raised over $1300 for their Dry July Campaign. How did they do it? A bake sale!

Oncology nurses Peta, Fiona and Hannah summoned their friends and colleagues to bake a delicious array of treats, which were quickly snapped up Royal Melbourne Hospital staff. The cause is very close to their hearts, and we couldn't be more grateful that they chose to give back.

Thank you girls for standing up for cancer - you have made a real impact in helping patients and their families in their time of need.

The Royal Melbourne Hospital’s Speech Pathology, and Head and Neck Surgery departments would like to acknowledge and thank Dry July for funding the replacement of The Royal Melbourne Hospital’s stock of electrolarynx kits because the impact on laryngectomy patient care is immeasurable.

The RMH Speech Pathology department currently manages more than 50 patients post laryngectomy, and this financial support has meant that RMH can more reliably provide all patients following laryngectomy with a ‘new voice’. RMH is therefore now better positioned to uphold the universal basic human right that all patients should be able to verbally express themselves and participate in their own healthcare.

Patients will now be able to routinely access the latest models of these kits to restore verbal communication immediately following their laryngectomy surgery or during unrelated hospital admissions, to assist in determining whether it will become their primary means of communication.

A pertinent example of this is a laryngectomy patient who currently has no verbal means of communication. She has requested electrolaryngeal speech rehabilitation in the first instance to restore her verbal communication. She will be loaned a device for the period of her rehabilitation which will facilitate her communication in a full range of community settings. This will provide her the first opportunity to communicate verbally since her laryngectomy surgery four years ago.

The Speech Pathology department at The Royal Melbourne Hospital recognises the importance of giving every person a voice. Patients requiring laryngectomy for laryngeal or hypo-pharyngeal carcinoma are incredibly dis-empowered and vulnerable following their operation as they are unable to use their voice in the weeks following surgery. For their remaining life as a laryngectomee, the loss of laryngeal voice continues to cause significantly reduced quality of life. 

The hospital is able to supply electro-larynx kits on loan to laryngectomy patients. The current supply is outdated and prone to malfunction. Sending the kits off for repair can delay provision to patients. The hospital will use some money raised through Dry July 2016 to purchase new kits so that patients can have access to this equipment more immediately.