Women's and Children's Hospital

The Hon. T.T. NGO (15:27): I rise to speak about a group of people in the Vietnamese community who took it upon themselves to fundraise $100,000 for the Women's and Children's Hospital (WCH) Foundation.

The Children's Hospital was established to address the high premature death rates among impoverished children in 1878. In 1902, the Women's Hospital, initially known as the Queen Victoria Hospital, opened in Rose Park. Then in 1989, the Women's and Children's Hospital was formed from the amalgamation of the two hospitals.

The role of the WCH Foundation is to improve the health and wellbeing of women, children and families under the care of the Women's and Children's Health Network. The foundation relies on the generosity of the community and is constantly challenged by prioritising where to invest donated funds. Thanks to the support of the community, in the last financial year, the WCH Foundation contributed more than $2.5 million to supporting the hospital community in areas such as medical equipment, family support programs for vulnerable babies and a purpose-built holiday home for families with children with complex medical needs.

On Saturday 6 April 2024, I attended a fundraising dinner. As I mentioned, this was hosted by members of the South Australian Vietnamese community and a friend of mine, Phuong Nguyen, who runs a restaurant on Hanson Road. Last year, Phuong and her husband were ecstatic about the safe birth of their daughter, Thien-An Ngo, through IVF. Phuong had health issues when she was due to give birth to Thien-An, and she told me that the care and support provided at the WCH was amazing and professional. Her five other children were all born at the WCH and in each of her pregnancies she was well looked after by doctors, nurses and midwives. Phuong and her husband were passionate about organising a fundraiser to acknowledge and repay the generosity of the staff at the hospital.

They liaised with friends and small business owners in the Vietnamese community and organised a dinner to raise funds for the WCH. The fundraiser was also a way to say thank you to Australia and its people for their generosity and kindness in settling Vietnamese people for 50 years. The cheque presentation was attended by Minister for Health and Wellbeing the Hon. Chris Picton MP and foundation chair Mr Michael Luchich, CEO Ms Jane Scotcher, foundation members, doctors, hospital staff and members of the South Australian Vietnamese community.

The foundation acknowledged Phuong's and the Vietnamese community's incredible work and confirmed that the money raised will be used to support areas of need, such as perineal care for birthing mums, diagnosis and treatment of vision loss in babies, and for mums and babies the nurturing of development and maternal attachment for two vulnerable groups of babies—babies needing neurodevelopmental physiotherapy and babies being cared for through the inpatient service at Helen Mayo House for mothers who have mental health problems in the postnatal period.

I was informed by the foundation that perineal trauma during childbirth occurs at a higher incidence within the Asian community, so this project will support all Asian women birthing at the WCH over the next 18 to 24 months through the development of culturally sensitive resources, cultural training for doctors and bundles of care items to support at-home care and healing after birth. To conclude, I would like to quote Phuong's words of thanks:

My family and I are blessed with a beautiful daughter whom we have named Thien-An, meaning 'a gift from God'. Thank you for your outstanding dedication and care. Your compassion and kindness have made a real difference in my recovery.