The Royal Children’s Hospital (RCH) Department of Neurology is one of the busiest paediatric neurology services in Australia. In addition to general neurology, the department provides subspecialty care for children with epilepsy, muscle disorders, strokes, genetic conditions affecting the brain, demyelinating disorders including multiple sclerosis, and movement disorders.
The Uncle Bobs Neurology Fellowship, made possible thanks to the support of Uncle Bobs Club through the Good Friday Appeal, gives junior paediatric neurologists the opportunity to work in this in-demand department. This training experience enables them to develop specific expertise in managing neurological conditions, which make up one third of all paediatric referrals to the RCH.
Uncle Bobs Club has been supporting the Good Friday Appeal since 1942. They support a number of projects and initiatives at The Royal Children’s Hospital (RCH), including the Uncle Bobs Neurology Fellowship. Each year, the fellowship gives junior paediatric neurologists the opportunity to work in the RCH’s Neurology Clinic.
The Uncle Bobs Neurology Fellowship has allowed several talented clinicians from across the world to train at the RCH, refining and enhancing their knowledge and skills.
The 2025 fellow is Dr Olivia-Paris Quinn. She has a special interest in paediatric strokes and is especially inspired by the novel research performed by the RCH in this area of medicine.
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Child Life Therapy (Educational Play Therapy Procedural Support)
Thanks to support from Woolworths through the Good Friday Appeal, children and young people at The Royal Children’s Hospital (RCH) are supported by a team of dedicated Child Life Therapists through the Child Life Therapy Program.
Child Life Therapy plays a crucial role in paediatric healthcare by helping children and their families navigate the emotional and psychosocial challenges associated with illness, hospitalisation, and medical procedures.
Specially trained Child Life Therapists provide psychosocial support through evidence-based, trauma-informed, and developmentally appropriate interventions. They use therapeutic play, emotional support, and education to reduce anxiety, build coping strategies, and promote a sense of normalcy for children and their families. This specialised care enhances overall well-being, helps children express their feelings, and can even improve recovery outcomes.
“Child Life Therapy is all about supporting children and families who are facing illness, hospitalisation, and the anxiety that often follows. We provide psychosocial support through evidence-based, trauma-informed, and developmentally appropriate interventions. Our goal is to help children understand their experiences, manage stress, and express their emotions in healthy and helpful ways.”
Carlie Alicastro, Child Life Therapist and Host, RCH TV.
The Child Life Therapy team, in conjunction with the RCH TV Team, develop peer modelled preparation videos for patients so they can better understand things around the hospital. Examples include A child’s guide to nebulisers, and Let’s Learn About… lead aprons. These videos are widely viewed by the community on the hospital’s website and YouTube channel.
The Child Life Therapy team also run a dedicated Mock MRI Clinic which gives patients an opportunity to learn about what an MRI is, and to experience a simulated MRI prior to their booking. The clinic empowers children to achieve an awake MRI, without general anaesthetic, which frees up the anaesthetists for the most vulnerable patients.
The Child Life Therapy Program reduces anxiety and hospital related trauma in children, prevents the need for more complex medical interventions and leads to a more positive hospital experience overall.
Carlie provided this story about a patient:
“I want to share with you a story about a very special child I worked with earlier this year. Her name is N. N is four years old, and when I first met her, she was absolutely terrified. She was facing a procedure called lymphoscintigraphy — a type of imaging where she would need to lie still for an extended period, with the added anxiety of a needle in the webbing of her toes. Ouch right!?
When I entered N’s room, I found her curled up in bed, her face streaked with tears. She was repeating, ‘I’m scared,’ over and over. My heart broke for her. But I knew that I could be with her — I could sit beside her. I could listen to her fears. I could help.
Together, we spent the next two hours navigating her fear. I provided step-by-step guidance, gave her time to process it at her own pace, and offered comfort with the soft hum of her favorite show, Bluey, playing on an iPad. But most importantly, I was present — not just in the room, but with her in her fear, with her in her pain.
I left that day wondering: ‘could I have done more to ease her distress?’ A few days later, N surprised me. She came running up to me, excited to see me, proudly talking about how she’d won a prize from our Hospital Lingo TV show. I had no idea she would remember me with such joy after such a tough experience. And in that moment, I realised that it wasn’t about making the fear go away; it was about showing N that she wasn’t alone in it.
I was with N in her pain, with her in her fear, and it allowed her to feel safe and empowered, even in one of her toughest moments. ”
Approximately 500 Child Life Therapy sessions are provided per month across the RCH.
Impact Milestones
2021/2022
Over 1,200 outpatient procedures were supported by the Child Life Therapy Program across Burns, Plastic, Orthopaedics, Pathology and nurse led clinics.
Over 700 cardiac outpatients were supported by Child Life Therapists in specialist clinics, including pathology and medical imaging.
Cardiac patients were identified by the Child Life Therapy team as a patient cohort who often arrived for planned surgery with high anxiety and medical related trauma. Early support by the Child Life Therapy team via outpatient clinics reduced patient distress and led to improved experiences, once patients were admitted for surgery.
Child Life Therapists performed 493 Mock MRIs. Of these patients, approximately 11 per cent went on to need a general anaesthetic for their real MRI.
2022/2023
1,311 patients were supported by the Child Life Therapy Program across the Medical Imaging Department.
2023/2024
Child Life Therapists performed 666 Mock MRI’s. Of these 590 went on to try an awake MRI.
89 per cent of children who had Mock MRI went on to have an MRI.
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Allied Health Research Capacity Development (Director of Allied Health Research)
The allied health workforce encompasses 27 professions across The Royal Children’s Hospital (RCH), including physiotherapy, dietetics, speech pathology and social work. The workforce includes a large cohort of staff who are passionate about undertaking world leading research that improves patient care.
The Director of Allied Health Research, a position made possible thanks to funding support from the Good Friday Appeal, focuses on building the research capacity in allied health professionals at the RCH, and driving research partnerships with The University of Melbourne, the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute, and academic and industry stakeholders.
Associate Professor Kelly Weir was appointed to this role in 2023. A certified practicing speech pathologist with extensive clinical experience, Kelly provides leadership within the allied health team. She supports allied health clinicians to undertake high-quality clinical research that identifies, implements and evaluates effective, evidence-led treatments and services for children and young people at the RCH.
Director of Allied Health Research, Kelly Weir
In her role as Director, and with the support of Emily O’Kearney in her newly commenced role of Allied Health Research Development Officer, Kelly provides leadership to support high-quality clinical research with the aim of supporting allied health clinicians to identify, implement and evaluate effective, evidence-led interventions and services for children and young people.
In the first year of the initiative, Kelly worked to understand current allied health research capacity and activities at the RCH, and to develop a program of research and education for allied health in collaboration with staff, children and families, and stakeholders.
In the program’s second year, Kelly will be focusing on a formal evaluation of allied health research culture and capacity to develop research resources, stronger networks, and mentoring or training opportunities.
By prioritising allied health research, the RCH can ensure optimal outcomes for patients and families, while also positioning itself as a leader in paediatric allied health research and education.
This investment will further bolster the RCH’s Allied Health Department, with the chance to combine research interests and clinical duties being an incredible drawcard for staff.
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Allied Health and Nursing Development, Education and Leadership Program
Funding from the Good Friday Appeal is helping the RCH to continue to stay at the forefront of transformational change and innovation in paediatric healthcare.
This program has led to the introduction of cutting-edge treatments and interventions across departments including social work and mental health. Last year alone, 65 staff across nursing, social work, prosthetics and orthotics, occupational therapy and allied health were able to access professional development training programs, helping further establish the RCH as a world-leading paediatric hospital.
Recent outcomes from the Allied Health and Nursing Development, Education and Leadership Program include:
Between February 2023 and February 2024, 123 allied health clinicians and 62 nurses participated in continuing education programs. Additionally, 61 allied health clinicians and 46 nurses travelled to in-person events, with a further 62 allied health clinicians and 18 nurses attending off-site seminars or workshops to advance their professional knowledge and skills.
23 allied health clinicians across 12 different departments underwent post-graduate study, and 40 nurses across 21 departments received scholarships to help them engage in further academic study.
A new Education and Training Steering Committee comprising of RCH nursing, allied health and medical education staff was established to further strengthen campus collaboration.
65 staff across nursing, social work, prosthetics and orthotics, occupational therapy and allied health were able to access professional development training programs. This has helped further establish the RCH as a world-leading paediatric hospital.
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Generation Victoria (GenV): Establishment and Campus Value
The primary objective of GenV is to enroll every child born in Victoria, along with their parents, into this study. This ambitious initiative aims to create a state-based research platform to accelerate the ability of researchers in addressing complex health and wellbeing challenges affecting children and young people by 2035.
Led by the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute, GenV looks at how children grow and develop, how people age, and how health changes across generations. GenV is the only birth and parent cohort launched internationally during the COVID-19 pandemic, and it includes families who are often underrepresented in research, such as those living in regional and rural communities, culturally and linguistically diverse families, and First Nations families.
Made possible through philanthropy, including support from the Good Friday Appeal, the Victorian Government, and the Paul Ramsay Foundation, this project aims to improve the prediction, prevention, and treatment of various child health issues such as preterm birth, allergies, and anxiety. GenV is helping researchers, communities and policymakers improve health and wellbeing of families at the RCH, throughout Victoria and across Australia in the long term.
To date, over 115,000 participants have joined the study, which includes families and babies from every birthing hospital in Victoria.
Through research and testing, GenV supports a wide range of conditions, both common and rare, affecting children and adults today. GenV is involved in 16 active research studies and supports a wide range of collaborative observational and interventional research.
From reducing the unprecedented rate of chronic adult diseases to developing improved predictive tools, this initiative is helping to ensure the next generation is as healthy as possible.
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The RCH Neuroscience Advanced Clinical Imaging Service (NACIS)
Over the last decade, The Royal Children’s Hospital (RCH) and the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute (MCRI) have worked to deliver an advanced neuroimaging program that has revolutionised neurosurgical practice and improved surgical outcomes for children with epilepsy and selected brain tumours.
This resulted in the establishment of Neuroscience Advanced Clinical Imaging Service (NACIS) under the Department of Neurosurgery at the RCH.
The Neuroscience Advanced Clinical Imaging Service (NACIS) is a one-of-a-kind service at The Royal Children’s Hospital (RCH). Through advanced brain imaging technology and image processing techniques, this service has been able to help make the invisible appear visible, going further than commercial magnetic resonance imaging.
Thanks to the support of the Good Friday Appeal, NACIS is improving long term outcomes and quality of life for young patients with brain tumours and epileptic disorders.
The NACIS team can help to identify particular lesions in the brains of patients with epilepsy, which were unable to be accurately detected before the establishment of the service. Across 2024, NACIS has helped clinicians deliver personalised and safer brain surgery to over 120 children.
NACIS uses sophisticated image processing techniques to produce a detailed map of a child’s brain vessels, functional brain regions and the underlying nerve fibre connections, which control functions like language, vision and movement.
They also use the technology to assist surgeons in identifying safe “surgical road maps” for precise brain mapping and surgical execution, as well as assessing patients’ post-surgery to ensure the best possible outcomes The map is used by surgeons to precisely plan and perform their operations, allowing them to avoid injuring these critical functional brain structures, thus ensure the best possible functional outcomes.
NACIS is a one of kind service, working to perform more high-risk and complex surgical cases, and in selected cases, offering surgery as a treatment to children previously considered inoperable.
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The Comfort Kids Program
The Comfort Kids team supports children undergoing a number of procedures and treatments including blood tests, immunisations, dental care, preparation for theatre, care of central lines, dressing changes, medical imaging, or any procedure in hospital that a child might find challenging.
The team also provides resources and coaching for parents to enhance their ability to support and advocate for their child. The resources provided include information sheets, podcasts, and Procedure Support Plans. Comfort Kids also support the RCH staff, with leadership, education, training and consultation, to empower them with the knowledge and tools needed to ensure all patients have the best experience.
“The Comfort Kids Program makes an enormous difference to the lives of children, families and staff. Without the support of Woolworths through the Good Friday Appeal, procedural pain management at the RCH would not be of such a high standard.”
Comfort Kids helps both inpatients and outpatients to plan for the best possible procedural outcomes, with approximately 400 patients supported by the program each year.
The program offers preparation support to patients undergoing medical procedures, using a range of pharmacological, psychological and physical treatments:
Pharmacological support includes procedural sedation medications, with Comfort Kids training the RCH nurses to administer these medication.
Psychological support includes a hypnotherapy service offered by Comfort Kids, as well as education and guidance on appropriate language use. Comfort Kids also collaborates with the Procedural Holding Research and Education Committee (PHREC) to develop improved evidence and resources for supporting children during procedures, particularly with positioning
Physical supports include virtual reality, the Buzzy Bee (TM), sensory toys and distraction resources.
The Comfort Kids team supports colleagues from across the hospital, by providing leadership, education, training and consultation, to ensure all patients have the best possible experience. Outreach education to external groups is also provided to ensure that children from wider Victoria are equally supported in coping with medical procedures.
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Workforce education for impact and reach: The Education Hub
The RCH’s Education Hub has been central to the delivery of education on campus for close to a decade. By working with campus partners such as The University of Melbourne, the Hub has supported clinical excellence through its one-of-a-kind delivery of programs.
“When it comes to clinical care, we often think about the technical bits of learning. For instance, learning about diseases or treatments. A lot of what the Education Hub does is think about how we can support health providers thrive,” explained Professor Amy Gray, Head of the University of Melbourne Department of Paediatrics and the Director of the Education Hub.
Learning together program to build a team that underpins a Learning Health System
Through innovative and bespoke learning practices, the team have been able to deliver programs that are cultivating a holistically skilled workforce. Similarly, as a well-established leader in the field, the RCH’s Simulation team has been making a profound impact in improving teamwork and driving safer clinical environments.
Simulation doll
“We’ve known for years how important simulation is in supporting health teams. But simulation today doesn’t look the same as it did five years ago. We now use simulation to test ideas before we even put them into practice. This really elevates the safety for patients and their families,” Amy highlighted.
The Education Hub and Simulation team have already made a profound impact on the paediatric workforce across the state. For instance, in 2024, both the Education Hub and the Simulation team’s outreach efforts supported 111 health facilities across metropolitan, regional and rural Victoria, empowering clinicians to look after their local communities.
“We’ve worked with hospitals that have never done a tonsillectomy before. Hospitals across the state expanded their services to address long waiting lists for this common procedure. To help them do so with the best possible care our nurses went to metropolitan and regional hospitals to upskill the post-operative teams. So, I think this statewide and regional impact is really important,” Amy said.
“The feedback we’ve heard on our outreach programs is that it has helped change the way they look after children. It has also given them new evidence and new ideas of how to practice that has been quite rapidly incorporated into what they do,” she continued.
Virtual reality training
This new partnership will help uplift clinicians and paediatric staff across the RCH and state-wide, ensuring that even more children and young people can receive the best possible care, closer to home.
“Our health system needs to continually grow and change, and so to do the best for our patients, we need to continually take in new evidence and research. We’re working to enable the whole organisation to grow and learn, and be more adaptable,” Amy emphasised.
The Education Hub’s impact would not be possible without the support of the Good Friday Appeal and its generous donors. This is something that Amy and her team are incredibly grateful for.
“Investment in education is an investment in the future. This can often be taken for granted, but I’m so incredibly grateful when education receives the support from philanthropy because it allows us to do things that we would not be able to do otherwise,”.
Professor Amy Gray, Head of the University of Melbourne Department of Paediatrics and Director of the Education Hub.
Key Statistics
In 2023, more than 15,000 clinical and non-clinical staff participated in the Education Hub and Simulation team’s programs combined, helping build a quality workforce both within and beyond the hospital’s walls.
In 2024, these outreach efforts provided custom education programs to 111 health facilities, including 36 regional centres and 75 rural hospitals or acute care facilities.
In just the last year, the program has reached 5,000 staff across the campus through 500 face-to-face education events. The program has also accelerated opportunities for digital learning through technology. This includes the introduction of a virtual learning platform with over 20,000 users in 67 countries, podcasts that have 17,000 downloads a year, and web-based video content which have over 35,000 views each year.
