Grandparents lend a hand to new parents
Volunteer grandparents at RNSH
Grandparents can be a familiar sight in maternity wards, but a special type of grandparents are supporting Royal North Shore Hospital’s neonatal intensive care unit.
The ward grandparents are part of an initiative with the Association for the Wellbeing of Children in Healthcare (AWCH) and the hospital’s volunteer department. The program is aimed at enhancing the hospital experience for children and families. The AWCH Ward Grandparent Program was established in 1987. It is a highly regarded service in NSW children’s hospitals, and a number of metropolitan and rural hospitals across the state.
Neonatal intensive care unit nurse manager Claire Blackburn said families appreciated the warmth and comfort that grandparents could offer them during some stressful times. “Being in hospital can be stressful for children and their families,” she said. “Families are often under significant pressure and can find it difficult to be with their child as much as they would like for a huge variety of reasons.
“Hospital ward grandparents make a real difference to the emotional side of healing by just ‘being there’ for the child and the family as a whole. “Ward grandparents play a crucial role in offering companionship and assistance to children and their families. Their activities include feeding, playing, reading, and providing emotional support,
contributing significantly to the overall well-being of young patients.”
Interested individuals from all backgrounds are encouraged to apply via the AWCH website’s Grandparent program section: https://awch.org.au/become-a-ward-grandparent/
39 NSLHD 2024 Year in Review
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