Latest news with #PrinceofWalesHospital
ABC News
10-07-2025
- Health
- ABC News
Nurse Keith Donnelly opens communal wardrobe for hospital mental health patients
When Troy Cavanaugh was admitted to hospital a few years ago, all he had was the clothes on his back and a small bag of essentials. The Maroubra local, who lives with bipolar disorder, was seeking treatment for his mental health and found himself with a limited rotation of clothing. That was until his nurse, Keith Donnelly, showed him through a boutique walk-in wardrobe in a section of the Prince of Wales Hospital with clothing for him to not only peruse but to call his own. "The selection was good and basically you could browse, pick what you liked and what fitted," Mr Cavanaugh said. Mr Cavanaugh said that without "Keith's Closet", he would have been stuck with the limited clothes he came in with. "If I didn't have visitors or other means of getting clothes … I'd be wearing soiled clothes around," he said. "The feeling when you pick something you like and can wear can make you feel better. "That's why the closet is so brilliant." Mr Donnelly said he repeatedly saw mental health patients lack basic necessities while working at hospitals in both Ireland and Australia. So in 2019, after emigrating to Sydney, he set out to renovate an unused area of the Prince of Wales Hospital into Keith's Closet. The idea was to provide patients, at any point during their stay, with new and high-end second-hand clothing, toiletries and accessories free of charge in the hope it would make them look and feel good. "The hardest part really was trying to locate a space, which was a seclusion room," Mr Donnelly said. "But it was nice to transform that space into something really positive." The 51-year-old said at first he would source clothing from either his or his wife's wardrobes, but now the public had jumped on board. "[We get] donations from either Joe or Mary off the street, from sports shops. Clothing companies have also dropped off end-of-season stock," Mr Donnelly said. This week, inside Shellharbour Hospital on the New South Wales south coast, Mr Donnelly and Health Minister Ryan Park shared a warm embrace as they unveiled the latest instalment of Keith's Closet. What was once an office space at the entrance to the hospital's mental health ward now features rows of stocked shelves, mirrors, and hand-painted affirmations. Mr Donnelly said that, since 2019, the program had expanded, with closets at two Sydney hospitals as well as a mobile van service. He said all donations were sorted by volunteers at a facility in Alexandria. Mr Park announced $185,000 in funding for the not-for-profit closet last year to help expand its operations after learning of Mr Donnelly's work at a community cabinet meeting. "This, for me, is probably some of the best $185,000 we'll ever spend as a government," he said. "What Keith Donnelly has done here is added another layer of support for those people. "It will be a service that I know I'll be donating to, so if anyone wants an old suit from a politician, I'm sure it'll be the last thing that gets borrowed or picked up." Mr Donnelly said he planned to unveil facilities at the Malabar Forensic Hospital and Lismore Base Hospital in the coming weeks.
Daily Mail
28-06-2025
- Daily Mail
Elderly patient allegedly punches female paramedic who was trying to help him
An elderly man has been detained after allegedly punching a female paramedic in the back of an ambulance after she tried to offer him help. Police were called to the intersection of Bunnerong Road and Daunt Avenue in Matraville, in Sydney 's east, about 3.50pm on Friday following reports of a concern for welfare. Officers asked for help from NSW Ambulance to treat an allegedly intoxicated 66-year-old man. Paramedics assessed the man at the scene and began transporting him to Prince of Wales Hospital in Randwick when the alleged assault occurred. Police allege the man threatened a 24-year-old female paramedic while inside the ambulance before he began to punch her in the torso and arms. 'Police immediately attended and assisted paramedics taking the man to hospital under police guard,' NSW Police said in a statement. 'The 24-year-old paramedic did not require treatment.' Police then made inquiries before the elderly man was released from hospital and taken to Mascot Police Station. He was charged with assault frontline health worker no actual bodily harm. The man was refused bail to appear before Parramatta Local Court on Saturday.
South China Morning Post
22-05-2025
- Climate
- South China Morning Post
Hong Kong authorities step up safety measures after worker dies from heatstroke
Hong Kong labour authorities have stepped up measures to better protect outdoor workers at risk of heatstroke by subsidising employers who want to purchase cooling equipment, as the city issued its fourth 'very hot weather' warning in less than a week. The announcement followed a fatal industrial incident of a 42-year-old worker, who reportedly suffered from heatstroke and fainted at a hospital construction site on Wednesday. He was pronounced dead at Prince of Wales Hospital in Sha Tin that same afternoon. The worker's father was so shocked to learn about the sudden death that he cried in front of local media, saying: 'I still do not know … why I suddenly lost my son.' The city has seen several torrid days since last Saturday, with the Hong Kong Observatory issuing four 'very hot weather' warning signals within six days. Some places in the New Territories recorded temperatures of more than 33 degrees Celsius (91.4 Fahrenheit) on Wednesday, while some areas rose to 35 degrees on Thursday afternoon. The weather forecaster issued the amber heat stress warning from 1.30pm to 4.30pm on Thursday, alerting outdoor workers of different job types to rest for 15 to 45 minutes every hour. Deputy Commissioner for the Labour Department Vincent Fung Hao-yin told the press heatstroke was preventable if employers took appropriate measures to help workers cool down.
