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. 

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.” 

Emily Cull, Clinical Nurse Consultant, Comfort Kids 

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. 

The Royal Children’s Hospital (RCH) Emergency Department (ED) is facing more challenges than ever with increased demand and complex patient needs. To help address these challenges, and thanks to support from the Good Friday Appeal and Woolworths, the RCH is extending its Child Life Therapy (CLT) program to this critical department.  

CLT is a proven solution that tackles the emotional and social aspects of a hospital stay, as well as engaging, educating and empowering young patients and parents.  

At its core, CLT is about creating an environment where children and young people feel safe and supported, which can reduce anxiety, and turn hospital visits into positive experiences. Child Life Therapists focus on the emotional wellbeing of young patients, offering tailored interventions to ease stress associated with medical procedures. 

Through techniques such as medical and therapeutic play, and procedure preparation and support, CLT creates a positive and engaging environment, fostering emotional expression and understanding. Therapists collaborate with clinical teams to advocate for the child’s perspective, contributing insights into emotional states and ensuring a holistic approach to care.  

Sinead Walker, mother of 6 year old RCH patient Charlie, has seen first-hand how CLT can improve a child’s hospital experience.

“The child life therapist came and talked Charlie through the options – about what they could do and the way that they could do it, and spoke through what would happen and why it would happen. It was quite a calming influence.  

“It was very reassuring to know that someone was leading us through that process and leading Charlie through it… It was very supportive.  

“The little donations probably feel small but actually for us, anything in the hospital that makes life easier is such a huge benefit to us and our kids.” 

Beth Dun, Manager of CLT and Music Therapy at the RCH, explains the importance of this program in helping make hospitals a more comfortable environment for children.  

“Sometimes a child’s first hospital experience will be the ED. It can be a scary place if they’ve never been before, and one of the things CLT can do is help make it a positive place and experience.”  

Beth shared an example of CLT in the ED in action when an eight-year-old boy with autism presented with a foreign body in his ear. With CLT support, the boy and his mother engaged in medical play, introducing them to the removal process. The therapist’s help allowed the clinician to practice on the boy’s mother, and the visual example helped the child cooperate.  

Remarkably, the foreign body was removed without sedation, completing the process in just 30 minutes. In contrast, this same scenario without CLT would likely involve a need for restraint and sedation, involving more staff, upsetting the child, and taking up to three hours to recover.  

“For example, if a child is distressed, the clinical staff may choose to use something like nitrous to help reduce stress. If the child has nitrous, they have to stay in the hospital until that wears off. The wait times are then so much longer. So we’re hoping that the use of sedation might come down in cases of distress,” Beth said.  

This example illustrates how CLT not only enhances patient care but also significantly improves efficiency and cost-effectiveness in the ED. Benefits like improved patient flow and decreased sedation requirements will all contribute to a more positive experience for children and families overall.  

Beth and her team are incredibly grateful for the community’s support in making this project a reality.  

“Any donation is going to make such a difference to the child’s experience. It’s heartwarming to know that that the community’s behind us and what we do,” she said. “People donating to this cause can be assured that their money is going towards creating more positive experiences for children at The Royal Children’s Hospital.”

Thanks to support from the Victorian community and the Good Friday Appeal, the RCH can expand vital services like CLT, ensuring every child receives compassionate and individualised trauma informed care. 

Impact Milestones

2024

• Implementing Child Life Therapy (CLT) in the Emergency Department (ED) service, which includes evening shifts seven days per week, launched in February 2024.  
• Three brand-new, dedicated Child Life Therapists have officially begun working across the ED.   
• Since commencement of the service, over 1,900 episodes of care have been delivered. 

Thanks to the generosity of the Good Friday Appeal and its supporters, children receiving care at The Royal Children’s Hospital (RCH) will soon be the first in Australia to have an expert team of specialist nurses providing support with the insertion of peripheral intravenous catheters (PIVCs).   

Also known as a cannula or drip, PIVCs are used to deliver life saving medications and fluids to patients across the RCH. Each year, approximately 30,000 PIVCs are inserted at the RCH, making it the hospital’s most common invasive procedure.   

For some patients, the trauma of their first PIVC insertion can leave a lasting impact, causing high levels of anxiety and fear. Routine assessments or even simple checks, such as looking at the site, can become distressing triggers for children and young people. 

This is where the Vascular Access Specialist Team (VAST) comes in.  

Committed to revolutionising paediatric care, the VAST brings together a group of expert clinicians equipped with advanced knowledge and skills in vascular access. Recognising the challenges and trauma faced by young patients, the VAST is dedicated to improving expertise, reducing complications, enhancing staff education, and championing a patient-centred approach to PIVC insertion. 

Eloise Borello, a Clinical Nurse Consultant who specialises in vascular access, explained that the project will make an enormous difference in the quality-of-care patients receive.  

“Many children who present to the RCH often require urgent medical treatment, and the fastest way to administer the medications and fluids they so vitally need is through a PIVC. 

“Whilst PIVCs are common, it can be challenging to insert these devices in children as they have smaller, more fragile veins which are often difficult to see. This becomes even more difficult in children who are critically unwell. No child likes to have a needle inserted, and young children can become very scared and distressed when they need a cannula,” Eloise explained.  

“We know that inserting a cannula is one of the scariest procedures for children in hospital. Children and families have told us that the memories of a bad experience can last many years which can impact care in and out of the hospital. We are committed to reducing pain, anxiety and trauma that can be associated with PIVC insertion. The goal of the VAST is to create the best experience possible for children and their families”. 

“By ensuring a best practice approach to PIVC insertion, including use of advanced technology like ultrasound guided insertion, by a team of highly skilled clinicians who are experts in the field, the RCH will be at the forefront of care for children and families”.

While ultrasound guidance is scientifically shown to be the best technique to insert PIVCs, its uptake has not been widespread across most Australian healthcare settings because it takes clinicians months of training and experience to develop the advanced ultrasound skills required. 

“The new ultrasound machines, also supported thanks to the Good Friday Appeal and its partners, will be instrumental in allowing us to use ultrasound guidance routinely for PIVC insertion, which is key to the successful outcomes of this treatment.  

“Growing a team of nursing experts skilled in the advanced ultrasound techniques will provide children who need this treatment with the best opportunity of having a successful insertion of the PIVC on the first attempt, drastically improving their experience,” said Eloise.  

Importantly, the impact of the VAST will reach beyond the four walls of the RCH.  

“Our goal is to create a service which includes a team of expert PIVC inserters and educators who will mentor and train junior doctors and nurses in best practice in PIVC insertion. As these clinicians rotate to different hospitals as part of their training, the skills they have developed will benefit children across Australia. 

“We will also share our learnings around service design, data and outcomes. This collaboration will expand on the existing relationships the RCH has with our national colleagues and will ensure we cultivate a community of practice where ideas and learnings can be shared, and where implementation of best practice PIVC insertion is spread to all states,” said Eloise.  

The introduction of VAST at the RCH will be a turning point for paediatric healthcare in Australia, something that Eloise knows would not be possible without the generosity of the Good Friday Appeal and its supporters.  

“We’re so grateful for the community in making this project possible. For our team, receiving this support represents how our community shares in a vision that values improving the experience of treatment in hospital for sick children across Victoria and Australia.   

“Your generosity allows us to innovate and develop a service which will be an Australian first in paediatric healthcare, and for that I would like to say thank you,”.

Eloise Borello

Impact Milestones

2024

• July: Recruited team leads 
• October: Recruited VAST nurses. There are 11 VAST nurses in total who will work from 8am – 10pm, seven days a week, across the hospital. 
• December: state-of-the-art ultrasound machines purchased

Ensuring access to mental health prevention and early intervention for this cohort has been an ongoing challenge. The Melbourne Children’s Campus Mental Health Strategy is on a mission to change this and is predicted to impact more than 600,000 children beyond the strategy’s proposed five year period.

The Melbourne Children’s Campus Mental Health Strategy is an ambitious multi-year project that aims to provide a uniform and evidence based approach to mental health prevention, care and advocacy for all children, young people and their families across the Melbourne Children’s Campus, which includes The Royal Children’s Hospital (RCH), the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute and The University of Melbourne Department of Paediatrics.

Supported by the Good Friday Appeal and their partner Decjuba Foundation, this multi-year strategy is making strides in transforming child and youth mental health care, education, and research. Over the past three years, it has increased engagement with lived experience advisors, launched a world’s first evidence-based Clinical Practice Guideline for children and young people with anxiety, developed staff training programs in mental health literacy, and skills and has six active research projects on the go.

Led by Professor Harriet Hiscock (pictured below) and Belinda Horton, the strategy is ensuring a holistic approach to mental health across the campus.

“One of the objectives of the strategy is to advocate for and equip staff to see children’s health and wellbeing as integrated physical and mental health. Our tagline – ‘mental health is everyone’s business’ – conveys this collective responsibility. We’re very grateful to the Good Friday Appeal for supporting this vital work.” 

Professor Harriet Hiscock and Belinda Horton, Program Directors of the Melbourne Children’s Campus Mental Health Strategy. 

“Our tagline – ‘mental health is everyone’s business’ – conveys this collective responsibility and our strategy activities have facilitated new conversations about this,” Harriet and Belinda shared.

Both Harriet and Belinda shed light on the pivotal role that engagement with campus stakeholders has played in guiding the strategy towards success. The collaboration with the Steering Committee, and advisory, working and focus groups, has been instrumental in shaping the strategy’s approach to mental health, fostering a collective commitment to its objectives.

“These ‘pockets of awesomeness’ across the campus are about bringing together the people who are already doing exceptional work, to integrate and build on this work and to identify gaps.

It has also been wonderful to equally privilege children, young people and families’ lived experience of mental health and recovery and the lived experience of campus clinicians, researchers, and educators,” they recalled.

With over 100 individuals actively participating in advisory and working groups and many more engaging with strategy communications and activities, Harriet and Belinda shared the significance of this broad engagement across the Melbourne Children’s Campus.

“We have been privileged to work with many people from across the campus from multi-disciplinary backgrounds and the full range of research, education, clinical and non-clinical expertise.

“We see this as a privilege because the contributions of these very busy people have been provided in kind from their commitment to improving research, education and care of the mental health of children, young people and their families,” they shared.

“In line with our initial strategy planning, the final two years will be focused on ensuring that the outputs of each part of the strategy are embedded where they need to be across the campus and embraced by staff and campus leaders,” Harriet and Belinda explained.

Through innovative approaches, collaborative partnerships, and a commitment to inclusivity, the Melbourne Children’s Campus Mental Health Strategy seeks to shape a future where mental health challenges are met with effective, compassionate, and readily accessible support for every child and young person across the Melbourne Children’s Campus.

Impact Milestones

2021

• Recruitment and onboarding of 14 staff to develop and build the Strategy Implementation Team.
• Development of an Interim Lived Experience Engagement Strategy to lay the foundations for seamless engagement of children and young people with lived experience of mental health concerns and recovery, and their parents, carers, and families.
• Soft launch of the Mental Health Central website with continued uploading of content throughout the life of the strategy.
• Integration of the strategy with the Mental Health Transformation Program within specialist RCH Mental Health Teams
• Implementing the recommendations of the Royal Commission into Victoria’s Mental Health System, including establishment of an integration team, regular meetings, and communications to stakeholders.

2022

• Development of the Lived Experience Advisor Network (LEAN). 
• Active engagement of over 100 people from across the Campus in advisory and working groups. 
• Completion of two funded research projects. 
• Models of care and program evaluation for better detection and support of child and family mental health. 
• Close to a full complement of staff in the Strategy Implementation Team (SIT) with 20 part time staff. 

2023

• Launched the world’s first evidence-based Clinical Practice Guideline for Anxiety in Children and Young People. 
• Continued development of Mental Health Central, the strategy website. 
• Engaged over 60 lived experience advisors in various strategy activities, including the Children’s Mental Health Gallery. 
• Strengthened collaboration between the Strategy Implementation Team, Steering Committee, and advisory groups. 

2024-2025

• Conclusion of pilots and projects, moving to scaling and sustainability beyond the life of the strategy.

The ChIPS story doesn’t just encapsulate the program’s growth and longevity; it also shows the difference it has made in the lives of young people with chronic illnesses.

ChIPS was born out of a vision to provide a support system for young people who were navigating the complex and often isolating world of chronic illness.  

“Thirty years ago, the idea of ChIPS came about because it was witnessed on the wards. The young people with chronic illness, who were regular patients of the hospital, were building friendships,” Harry Lengelsen-Brown, Program Manager of ChIPS shared.  

“Over the thirty years, the core of the program has been asking young people what they want. So, everything that has changed and developed has happened organically because we’ve always asked young people what they wanted.”  

Thanks to the Good Friday Appeal, ChIPS provides a supportive community for those navigating the complex world of chronic illness. It offers young people the opportunity to connect with each other through organised activities and twice yearly camps. There are currently 135 young people registered with ChIPS and up to 700 young people have participated in the program since 1993.

One of the most significant milestones in the ChIPS program took place in the early 2000s when the idea to organise the first ChIPS camp emerged.  

“Some of the ChIPERS said they wanted to have a camp because they wouldn’t normally get to go on school camps. The staff were a bit taken aback at the time, so they said, ‘If you can raise $5,000, you can have a camp,’ and I’m told they chose a number that they thought could never be raised.”

“But it was – they went out with the support of their families and fundraised $5,000 and went back to the staff and said, ‘When are we going on camp?’ There’s been an annual camp ever since then,” Harry recalled.  

“When the RCH Foundation said they were going to support the program, it changed the whole mindset of how we went about things. Knowing we could keep growing and implementing things was great,” said Harry.  

“With the support of the RCH Foundation, we’ve been able to look at our calendar year and say we can run all of these events. I had a conversation with a young person, and he was never able to perform in a school musical, but he loves the performing arts.  

“So, he wanted to run a musical production and we’re able to say ‘Yes, let’s do it!’ Without that funding and support, we wouldn’t have been able to say yes.”  

“When people from other hospitals across the world hear about the ChIPS program, they say, ‘How have you managed to do that?’”, Harry shared when reflecting on the ChIPS program’s incredible journey.

“The program is such a simple idea when you think about it: here’s a bunch of young people supporting each other, let’s put them into a program and see what happens. I wish the supporters of the program could meet some of the young people and hear from them and their families what this has meant for them because it’s genuinely life-changing.” 

The longevity of ChIPS is not just measured in numbers but in the countless stories of resilience, hope and transformation. 

“A particular story that stands out to me is a young person who said she wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for ChIPS. When she first joined the program, she was in a very dark place. And now, she’s finished her degree and is just killing it,” Harry shared. 

As the ChIPS program continues to go from strength to strength, its future is full of possibilities. 

“Thirty years ago, they said, ‘Let’s listen to the young people and what they want, and we’ll do what we can to make that happen!’. And that’s still what we’re doing now, so as long as we remember that we can’t go wrong,” said Harry. 

I want to say a massive thank you to all our supporters, including the Good Friday Appeal! It’s hard to capture in words what ChIPS means to the young people who have been in the program.” 

Harry Lengelsen-Brown, Program Manager of ChIPS.  

Impact Milestones

2020

• In response to the COVID-19 Pandemic, the team successfully adapted and delivered core programs in a hybrid format.  
• Ensured patient engagement through a blend of virtual and face-to-face activities. 

2021

• Continued virtual operations to ensure safety, facing and overcoming the challenges posed by the pandemic. 

2022

• Continued virtual operations in the first half of the year.  
• June 2022 – Slow reintroduction of face-to-face events.  
• November 2022 – Presented at the Australian Association for Child and Adolescent Health (ACAH) conference.

2023

• Successfully achieved intake goals, engaged new referrals, and maintained a hybrid model for program activities. 
• Staff participated in relevant professional development meetings and supervision sessions.  
• Advocated for peers across the RCH hospital departments and participated in community events.  
• Released an annual magazine and conducted leadership training for Peer Leaders.  
• Organised and facilitated various social events, including the successful January 2023 camp post-COVID restrictions.  
• Engaged in community events such as the Melbourne Pride March. 

2024

• Completed filming of a short film project that was entered into the Focus on Ability Film Festival.  
• 36 young people, 16 volunteers and medical staff attended yet another successful January Camp. 29 ChIPERS also attended the program’s September camp.  
• After the impact at ACAH, ChIPERS were invited to present their guidelines to 20 allied halth staff at the RCH. This workshop is the first of its kind and will be an ongoing component of allied health professional development.  
• Young people were invited to present and run workshops throughout the year at forums such as the Health Education Learning and Parents (HELP) in Adelaide and the Australian Association of Adolescent Health conference in Brisbane.  
• The peer leadership team, which consists of more experienced program participants, received extra training. This included a Racism 101 Leadership Training, which saw five peer leaders in attendance.  
• The socials subcommittee organised bi-monthly games night and four social events.  
• The publications subcommittee released their latest version of their magazine.

2025

• 45 ChIPERS signed up for the January camp. 

The Royal Children’s Hospital (RCH) Therapeutic Garden Program delivers dedicated programs for patients and families at three specialised garden spaces at the hospital.

• The Kelpie Garden Space – accessible to children and adolescents with acute and chronic health issues.  
• The Therapy Garden South – accessible to RCH staff, and both inpatients and outpatients accompanied by staff.  
• The North Court Garden Space – accessible to patients, visitors and RCH staff.  

The programs include a combination of individual and group horticulture activities and creative experiences designed to distract from pain, decrease stress and provide relief. The gardens also offer a quiet, calming environment for patients, families and staff, providing an alternative space to the hospital wards.  

The RCH Therapeutic Garden Program is funded by philanthropy, including support from Woolworths through the Good Friday Appeal. Drawing on extensive research demonstrating the physical, mental and social benefits of providing patients with access to garden spaces, the RCH is extending the program, resources and accessibility of its gardens to reach more patients across the hospital. On average, approximately 60 patients per month benefit from the program. This extension is made possible with thanks to the generous funding support this program receives. 

This educational and therapeutic initiative is led by a multidisciplinary team including child life therapists, garden staff, and volunteers and aims to decrease stress for patients and their families, which helps to improve patient recovery. Beth Dun, Manager, Child Life Therapy at the RCH said that garden programs have great benefits for patients and families.

“The Garden Program will be incredibly beneficial for patients at the RCH. As well as giving them a place to breathe in fresh air, it can also be a welcoming space for children and young people from regional areas, who often find the city very intimidating,” said Beth.

Studies show that 95% of people who walk through hospital gardens report a therapeutic benefit. When hospitals provide easy access to nature, patients experience a reduction in stress, blood pressure and pain, while also experiencing an increase in pain tolerance, and faster recovery times. The social element of garden therapy allows users to feel empowered and more engaged.

Contact with nature helps hospital staff and family members more effectively deal with the stress of providing care, which enables them to better serve those they are caring for. Gardening provides a range of mental health benefits, including significant reductions in depression and anxiety, and improved social functioning.

“Gardening itself has many benefits for patients, including offering a safe, natural setting to participate in a non-clinical, fun activity that provides a welcome distraction from their illnesses. The use of familiar garden tasks that are simple and diverse offers patients the chance to feel successful as well as tasks that cater to different levels of capacity or energy.”

Impact Milestones

July 2023

• Employed a Therapeutic Garden Program Coordinator and a new full-time Therapeutic Garden program staff member. These staff members are developing the workplan to deliver the new vision, including increasing wheelchair accessibility, increasing shaded garden spots to create calm spaces for therapies, and increasing the number of patients who can access the program and garden spaces.  
• Commenced diversifying the plant species to provide sensory experiences for all patients – providing colour, touch, smell and feel.  
• Undertaken consultation with clinicians and treatment teams to tailor the garden spaces to meet the therapeutic goals of a diverse range of patient needs.  
• Received volunteer support from corporate teams and the RCH volunteer program.

November 2024

• The program has provided and hosted sessions for patients across five different wards: cardiac, oncology, rehabilitation and two for eating disorder patients. 
• Patient referrals have been received from a further five wards: Cockatoo, Kelpie, Sugar Glider, Koala and rehabilitation outpatients. 
• Mindfulness and wellbeing sessions for staff have been run in conjunction with key events like wellness weeks.  
• Ongoing maintenance and upkeep of the three therapeutic garden spaces.  
• Installation and commencement of the Kitchen Garden Project which has meant food may be picked by patients and herbs are picked by the hospital’s food services.  
• Commenced a research project in conjunction with the Allied Health Research team on transforming allied health with nature, resulting in a presentation at an Allied Health symposium.  
• Continuation of diversifying the plant species to provide sensory experiences for all patients – providing colour, touch, smell and feel.  
• Strengthened partnerships with clinical teams to encourage outdoor clinical sessions.  
• Continued receiving volunteer support from corporate teams and the RCH volunteer program. 

Through the Children’s Cancer Centre, the leading provider of paediatric cancer services in Victoria, The Royal Children’s Hospital is committed to providing comprehensive cancer care for children and adolescents, which addresses not only treatment of their disease, but also holistic aspects, including psychosocial, financial, mental health and wellbeing, as well as educational and vocational needs.

Thanks to Good Friday Appeal support, the Children’s Cancer centre will utilise the latest learnings and best practice in cancer care through the funding of an integrated multidisciplinary team of specialist oncology medical, nursing, allied health, supportive care and research staff to provide holistic care to children, adolescents and their families.

Dr Di Hanna, Paediatric Oncologist at the Children’s Cancer Centre, said the medical treatment of cancer went hand in hand with the holistic care to best support patients and their families.

“The cancer journey needs a really holistic approach to support the patient and their family through and that involves the whole team, allied health professionals, neuropsychology, psychology, child life, play, everything,” Dr Hanna said.

“Without the generous support from the Good Friday Appeal, we couldn’t do what we do to provide the world class care.”

“The Appeal has been critical for every piece of the cancer journey. We need the latest and best research. We need diagnostic tools and the best clinical trials and the patient and family support networks. The Good Friday Appeal has been a cornerstone for each part of that.”