July 2012
Royal Children’s Hospital ward
grandparent Judith Christy with patient Yuli.
Royal Children’s call for grand volunteers
The program was established to
allow patients to develop special relationships and secure attachments while
undergoing treatment in hospital.
It is based on a key principle
of the Royal Children’s Hospital to provide child and family-centred care and
was developed in response to the needs of long-stay inpatients.
A ward grandparent is a
specially-trained volunteer who spends quality time with a child to enhance the
psychological health and wellbeing of patients who are unable to be fully
supported by parents, often during long periods of hospitalisation.
The volunteer ward grandparents
are ‘matched’ with one patient at a time. They visit the patient around
three days per week and spend time playing and doing activities that are
suitable for the child or baby.
Cheryl O’Hanlon has been a ward
grandparent at the RCH for 18-months.
During that time she has been
‘matched’ with five patients.
With four grown-up children of
her own, Cheryl has had plenty of practice caring for little ones.
She is nurturing and dedicated
– her first match with a child lasted 11 months during which she built a
positive and trusting relationship.
Vicky Lombardo became a ward
grandparent at the RCH last year.
She has worked with two patients
and has fitted into the role of ward grandparent with ease, enjoying the chance
to build fun relationships with children and to assist in their learning and
development.
Being a creative person, Vicky
enjoys using arts and crafts and story-telling to engage children.
Catherine Rankin became a ward
grandparent in February.
Catherine has been a childcare
teaching assistant and has children of her own. She enjoys being able to
provide support to families and children at the hospital.
• For
more information on the ward grandparent program visit www.rch.org.au/wardgrandparent.
