The Royal Melbourne Hospital

Being diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma was a huge shock to Amy and her family. Amy went to her doctor for some chest pain and a few days later she found herself beginning chemotherapy. After chemotherapy, Amy underwent a bone marrow transplant and thankfully, is on the road to recovery. It was a long and painful process and she was scared, but Amy said that if it wasn’t for the support of her loving family, and the wonderful staff at The Royal Melbourne Hospital, she wouldn’t be here today. 

“Please support The Royal Melbourne this Dry July. It’s a great way to help RMH cancer patients and services. They need all the resources that they can get. The more resources they get the more comfortable the patients are and it makes a real difference to patients like me. The staff genuinely care about your health and wellbeing and they try to do everything for you. I am so grateful to everyone at The Royal Melbourne, they’re incredible.” Amy. 

The Royal Melbourne Hospital was the recipient of 2 grants from the Dry July Foundation in 2015. These will be used for:

- Recliners and refurbishments in each of 4 Palliative Care rooms

- Purchase of a blanket warmer for exclusive use in the Palliative Care ward, to help with warming blankets and heat packs

The Royal Melbourne Hospital has planned to use funds from Dry July 2015 towards a number of areas around the hospital to help make cancer patients a little more comfortable:

Replacement waiting room chairs in ward 3 East (the existing chairs were over 5 years old and endure heavy duty use).

Washing machine and dryer in the palliative care unit, for patient use. Patients feel more comfortable when able to wear their own clothing. The hospital laundry is not able to wash patients’ clothing, so having a washer and dry in-house will make a big difference to patients and their families.

Refurbished rooms in the palliative care unit, assisting with renovations to increase from 2 to 4 private rooms.

Expansion of the Bridge of Support breast cancer service, which is a peer support program run in conjunction with BreaCan.

Here’s a quick look at how RMH will be spending funds from Dry July 2014 to make a difference to their cancer patients:

- Filtered Water System. 5 West
- Fresh Flower Arrangements. Palliative Care
- Magazine & Newspaper Service. Palliative Care
- iPads. Palliative Care
- Artwork. 5 North
- iPads. 5 North
- Patient Care. 5 West & 5 East
- Magazine & Newspaper Service. 5 West

We've put together a collection of photos to show what goes on behind the scenes.

Photos below (left to right, top to bottom):

Meet Bradon - He’s been here since January and is staying to September. Lucky the chair (funded through Dry July) is comfy…

On the RMH Bone Marrow Transplant Unit, a positive collage from former patients keep everyone’s spirits up.

Beanies and scarves knitted by caring volunteers. By donating to Dry July, you can make a difference.

Some of our incredible nurses in the RMH Bone Marrow Transplant ward.

Thanks to Dry July, 5 North has a bladder scanner. This unassuming piece of equipment means patients don’t have to wait for their scans.

The RMH family resource room, re-decorated thanks to generous Dry July participants

To the North: our 20-bed haematology and medical oncology ward caring for patients needing specialist medical and nursing care. Dry July is making a difference here too.

Because family time is important…

The RMH Bone Marrow Transplant Ward’s ‘Wall of Thanks’.