You don’t always know when you will need to come to hospital and you may find yourself with out the basic necessities of clothing and toiletries. Staff at Mater Private Hospital Springfield have noticed this with some patients and decided to do something about it.
Modelled on an existing space within Mater Hospital South Brisbane known as Catherine’s Room the team at Springfield have set up a space called Catherine’s Cupboard full of clothing and toiletries which can be offered to patients who need them.
Discharge Coordinator Lisa Russell who worked on the project said the cupboard has been named in honour of Catherine McAuley who was born in Dublin, Ireland in 1778.
“Catherine used her inheritance to build a House of Mercy in 1827 where she and other women would shelter homeless women, reach out to the sick and dying and educate girls. She went on to found the Sisters of Mercy in 1831,” Lisa said.
“We have been seeing more and more patients come in to hospital who do not have any additional clothing or toiletries with them and may be socially isolated with no family or support networks so in the spirit of the Sisters of Mercy we set this space up.
“By being able to offer them a clean change of clothing, a warm cardigan or even an activity pack to keep them occupied we are trying to make the hospital feel a little more like home for them. I am so pleased with what we have been able to set up so far and am excited to see how we can make a positive impact in the lives of our patients.”
Performance and Service Development Coordinator Krystal Lording said the cupboard would not have been possible without the generous support of the Mater Foundation and Big W Orion Springfield, who have donated clothing and toiletries to set this up.
“We are so grateful to Cameron Bell from Big W Orion Springfield for their generous support. We will be forever grateful for their immense generosity in supporting our patients and their families by providing access to suitable clothing, which will undoubtably lead to improved health outcomes,” Krystal said.