RBWH Foundation Archives - Redcliffe Today

From Night Lights to Virtual Reality: The Staff Ideas Changing Redcliffe Hospital

Virtual-reality Smileyscope technology was among the projects supported through Raise it for Redcliffe Hospital Wishlist Grants. Photo Credit: Raise it for Redcliffe Hospital

A child nervous about a needle puts on virtual-reality goggles. A new mother can breastfeed during the night without flooding a shared hospital room with bright overhead light. An older patient who has forgotten their glasses can still read while they recover.

They are very different problems, but at Redcliffe Hospital they have something in common: staff saw something that could be made better, and money raised by the community helped them do it.

Now another round of Raise it for Redcliffe Hospital Wishlist Grants is about to give staff the chance to put forward their next ideas.

Applications open on Monday, 28 September and run until 2 November, with funding available for additional equipment, resources, programs and initiatives supporting patients, families and hospital staff.

What a Hospital Wishlist Actually Buys

The Wishlist program has produced an unusually varied collection of projects over the years.

One grant put Smileyscope virtual-reality technology into the Paediatric Unit, giving staff another way to distract children who may be frightened of needles or medical procedures.

Another tackled something considerably simpler. Maternity staff received breastfeeding night lights so mothers did not have to switch on bright bed lighting during night feeds in shared rooms. Mood-light projectors were also funded to create a calmer environment for women giving birth.

For older patients, Wishlist money has supported the Eat Walk Engage program with everyday items ranging from reading glasses and headphones to hearing-aid batteries and portable DVD players.

There has been more specialised equipment too. Speech Pathology received surface electromyographic biofeedback technology to help rehabilitate people with swallowing difficulties, while more recent funding has included a pneumatic compression pump for Occupational Therapy patients with lymphoedema and an augmentative and alternative communication library for children who have difficulty communicating.

An Idea From Inside the Hospital

That staff-led element is central to the program.

Raise it for Redcliffe describes Wishlist Grants as a way for people working inside the hospital to turn ideas into projects improving comfort and wellbeing for patients, families and staff.

The 2024 round, for example, backed six projects. Maternity and Neonatal Services secured funding for home serum bilirubin testing aimed at improving newborn care while keeping families together. Urology Outpatients received support for UroShield technology for patients managing severe catheter-related problems, while Geriatrics proposed furniture and activity items to make the hospital environment less stressful for older patients.

Previous rounds have also supported a mobile recliner for heart-failure patients and relatives staying beside critically ill family members, a perinatal bereavement booklet and baby bundles containing essentials for new mothers.

Where the Money Comes From

Wishlist Grants sit within the much larger Raise it for Redcliffe Hospital initiative, a philanthropic partnership between Redcliffe Hospital and the RBWH Foundation.

Community donations and fundraising have also paid for research and larger projects such as rehabilitation and palliative-care improvements. By 2024, the initiative had passed $1 million raised and more than 60 projects funded across the hospital.

Its 2026 Giving Day added another $226,227 to that community support.

That broader fundraising has also put equipment into the hospital outside the Wishlist program. The recently installed $52,000 Babyroo in the birth suite, for example, was funded through a Crew Legal campaign and a memorial fundraiser for former Redcliffe Hospital midwife Jenny Stapleton rather than a Wishlist Grant.

From Monday, the focus returns to ideas originating inside the hospital.

The 2026 Wishlist Grant round will remain open until 2 November, beginning another search for the equipment, resources or practical changes Redcliffe Hospital staff believe could make a difference on their own wards.

Published 26-September-2026

Redcliffe Community Raises More Than $225-K For Hospital’s Palliative Care Unit

Metro North Health

A penny farthing bicycle, a sell-out bake sale and a live radio broadcast were among the highlights as Raise it for Redcliffe Hospital‘s sixth Giving Day exceeded expectations, with the community and local businesses raising more than $225,000 for the Palliative Care Unit.

The result pushes the total raised since the program began in 2021 past $1.3 million — enough to have funded more than 80 individual projects across the hospital.

Projects making a difference

The range is wider than most donors might expect.

A refurbished playroom in the Paediatric Ward sits alongside funded research projects with implications for patients well beyond Redcliffe.

*Photo Credit: Raise it for Redcliffe Hospital*

Staff wellbeing activities, a courtyard and lounge area in the Palliative Care Unit, and a new family-friendly play space have all come through Raise it for Redcliffe support.

Hospital Executive Director Cang Dang said the day’s focus on palliative care was intentional.

“Raise it for Redcliffe support has already helped us to refurbish a courtyard and lounge area, and provide for a new family-friendly play space,” Dang said. “That community support, combined with staff enthusiasm, has made Raise it for Redcliffe and Giving Day the success that it has been.”

A day of community support

Director of Research Dr Joel Dulhunty rode a penny farthing bicycle across the bridge to the hospital — a crowd-pleasing tradition that delights patients, staff and visitors in equal measure. The Allied Health teams’ bake sale sold out, as it always does.

Bridge FM broadcast live from the hospital throughout the day, extending the reach of the event to the wider Redcliffe Peninsula.

Cang paid tribute to the late Ray Kerr, former Bridge FM station manager, whose deep commitment to Raise it for Redcliffe over many years left a lasting legacy on the event.

Turning community support into action

Raise it for Redcliffe Hospital is a partnership between Redcliffe Hospital and the RBWH Foundation, established in 2021 to give the Redcliffe Peninsula community a direct way to invest in their local hospital.

Donations fund equipment, research, patient comfort improvements and staff support — filling the gaps that standard healthcare funding doesn’t reach.

To donate or find out more, visit raiseitforredcliffe.com.au

Published 10-July-2026

A Redcliffe Daughter Returns to Mark a Moment 25 Years in the Making

Kerri-Anne Dooley/Facebook

Redcliffe Hospital‘s palliative care unit has officially opened its refurbished lounge, garden courtyard and children’s play area, completing a transformation funded by the Moreton Bay community and delivering the kind of spaces that make an unbearable time feel, even briefly, a little more like home.

The opening drew together a gathering that reflected what the project is really about: supporters, patient ambassadors, hospital staff, community partners and families who have lived through the unit’s care. Among them was Karen Wilson, who returned to the unit for the first time since saying goodbye to her father Derek there, 25 years ago.

“Like so many families, we entered the world of palliative care with uncertainty, fear and grief,” Karen said. “But what we found here was something extraordinary. Not just a place with walls and equipment, but one where kindness, compassion, dignity and respect truly matter.”

A Garden That Brought Someone Back

Karen has since become a passionate Raise it for Redcliffe Hospital supporter, and it was her father’s love of the outdoors that made the courtyard project particularly meaningful. “Dad always loved his garden. Some of my most special memories are sitting outside together, sharing stories and laughter,” she said. “These spaces matter more than words express.”

The refurbishment encompasses the unit’s lounge, an outdoor garden courtyard and a dedicated children’s play area. Together these spaces give patients and their families somewhere to gather, breathe, and spend time together that does not feel like a clinical setting. For a unit that cares for around 600 patients and their families each year, the cumulative effect of that shift in environment is significant.

Redcliffe Hospital's refurbished palliative care lounge, courtyard and children's play area have officially opened, funded by the Moreton Bay community through Raise it for Redcliffe Hospital. — *Photo Credit: Kerri-Anne Dooley/Facebook*

Palliative Care Nurse Unit Manager Kim Shesgreen, who has worked with Moreton Bay families for 25 years, put it simply. “Sometimes people want to be at home and that’s not always possible. So being able to create a space that feels more like home, even for a short time, is incredibly important,” she said. “The changes have made a real difference. They’ve created warm, welcoming spaces where families spend time together and even for a moment, not feel they’re in a hospital.”

Built by the Community, for the Community

The project is the latest achievement of Raise it for Redcliffe Hospital, an initiative of the RBWH Foundation that has raised more than $1 million for the hospital since launching in 2021. The initiative funds a range of hospital projects through its annual Giving Day, with every donation matched by community Impact Partners. A previous round of fundraising transformed the hospital’s Rehabilitation and Stroke Unit, and the palliative care refurbishment has been the focus of multiple campaigns since.

Redcliffe Hospital is an approximately 250-bed regional hospital that has been caring for its community since the 1960s, providing services including medical, surgical, cancer care, maternity, palliative care, paediatrics and emergency care. The RBWH Foundation’s partnership with the hospital through Raise it for Redcliffe allows the community to fund projects that fall outside the scope of standard government healthcare budgets, adding the kind of human touches that formal funding rarely reaches.

Redcliffe Hospital Executive Director Cang Dang described palliative care as one of the most important services any hospital provides. “They support patients and families through a very difficult and challenging journey, but it’s a time when families come together, say goodbye and recognise what matters most,” he said. “This project has only been possible through the goodwill, generosity and support of our community and Raise it for Redcliffe Hospital partners. We are incredibly grateful.”

At the opening, guests received a symbolic butterfly, chosen to represent remembrance, comfort and the ongoing care these new spaces will provide to future families.

How to Keep the Work Going

The next Raise it for Redcliffe Hospital Giving Day falls on 21 May 2026, with all donations made in the lead-up doubled by community Impact Partners. This year’s Giving Day will support ongoing work to improve comfort, research and wellbeing for patients and families across the Moreton Bay region.

To donate or find out more, visit raiseitforredcliffe.com.au or call 1300 363 786.

Published 13-April-2026