The manufacture of 3D printed artificial eyes and a state-wide in-person and online support program for families with loved ones in Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital (RBWH) Intensive Care Unit are among the inaugural Extraordinary Opportunities Grants announced by the RBWH Foundation. 

“On behalf of our donors and fundraisers, the RBWH Foundation is honoured to distribute $520,000 in funding to fifteen outstanding projects across research and patient care,” said the RBWH Foundation CEO Simone Garske.

“What makes these grants extraordinary is their ability to transform the patient experience at RBWH and potentially other hospitals around Australia.”

Fifteen grants were selected from more than 60 submissions by a panel with representation from both RBWH and the RBWH Foundation. Funds were raised through the dedication and enthusiasm of Foundation donors and Team Royal fundraisers who supported RBWH Foundation Giving Day 2022.

“We have been amazed by feedback from our recipients that many of these incredible projects have not been able to attract funding from other granting bodies because they don’t ‘fit the box’ when it comes to traditional research and health care eligibility,” said Ms Garske.

“It is staggering to think this work could remain unfunded without the RBWH Foundation Extraordinary Opportunities Grant round.”

The RBWH Foundation will continue to pursue additional funding avenues for projects unable to be funded through this round.

• Self-isolation Experience due to an Infectious Disease
  
  • Associate Professor Kate McCarthy , RBWH Medical Director of Infection Control
  • An analysis of the patient experience of self-isolation in a hospital or the home setting to formulate future strategies that support patients within this model of care and mitigate unintended consequences of self-isolation.
• The Feeds Needs study
  • Dr Kylie Matthews-Rensch, Acting Research Coordinator and Clinical Dietitian, RBWH Dietetics and Food Services
  • Meeting the nutritional needs for hospitalised patients with eating disorders.
• A retrospective audit of occupational therapy splinting of radial forearm flap donor sites in patients with head and neck cancer
  •  Frances Thomsen, Occupational Therapist, RBWH Occupational Therapy
  • To clinically justify safe timeframes for patients to cease forearm immobilisation and to resume functional use of their upper limb to enable participation in meaningful daily activities.

• Post Intensive Care Peer Support Program 
  • Meg Miller, Clinical Nurse, RBWH ICU
  • Implementation of an in-person and virtual Post intensive Care Unit (ICU) Patient and Family Support Group.
• Backpack Beds for Homeless Patients
  • James Ready, Emergency Trauma Centre Social Work Team Leader, RBWH Social Work Services 
  • To provide homeless people with respect and dignity through provision of a backpack bed.
• “Hello outside world”
  • Kristy Washington, Social Work Team Leader, RBWH Social Work  
  • To provide digitally disadvantaged older patients with portable radios to keep them stimulated and connected with news, music and the outside world.
• Skull Base Patient Experience Initiative
  • Dr Ryan Sommerville, RBWH Ear, Nose and Throat Surgery, Skull Base Surgeon
  • To reduce anxiety and trauma for skull base cancer patients by creating a range of resources which outline their healthcare journey, including lived experiences from former patients.

• Evaluation of 3D printed artificial eyes
  • Nicholas Puls, Ocularist, RBWH Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery
  • To refine manufacture through 3D technology, reducing the time and cost of producing ocular prostheses while improving patient outcomes.  
• Development and evaluation of a saliva management pathway for patients with swallowing difficulties who attend the RBWH Motor Neurone Disease (MND) Clinic
  • Shana Taubert and Annette Collins, Senior Speech Pathologists, RBWH Speech Pathology and Audiology 
• Understanding delirium
  • Professor Alison Mudge, Clinical Lead Eat Walk Engage program, Department of Internal Medicine and Aged Care
  • An urgent consumer-led need for more awareness and resources about delirium, its prevention and care, delivered nationally across a range of print and digital platform, to empower consumers, carers and community: 
• Hydrostatic Casting in Prosthetics
  • Andrew MacDonald, Orthotist/Prosthetist, RBWH Orthotics and Prosthetics
  • To assess whether new hydrostatic technology (which uses water pressure) to cast for prosthetic legs reduces the need for multiple fitting appointments and the time required for socket manufacture, allowing patients at Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital to begin prosthetic training sooner:  
• “Hitting the refresh button”
  • Mark Cruickshank, Director RBWH Physiotherapy
  • To co-design contemporary and inclusive patient education and information resources for the RBWH Physiotherapy Department.
• How good was my meal?
  • Dr Merrilyn Banks, Director RBWH Dietetics and Food Services
  • Real time patient feedback on food service and consumption to improve nutrition care.
• Partnering with patients, through co-design, to develop and implement a care plan for patients and/or carers attending a Kidney Supportive Care Service
  • Jenny Kirby, Senior Social Worker, RBWH Social Work Services
  • To improve their ability to remember, use and act upon health-related information. 
• Optimising Inpatient Colonoscopy Preparation
  • Anna McMahon, Familial Bowel Cancer Nurse, RBWH Gastroenterology Department
  • To reduce the risk of inadequate bowel preparation which can compromise procedural safety, necessitate repeat procedures, lead to further hospital admissions and the potential to miss a diagnosis of colorectal cancer.