Assistance for you and your family

Accommodation and travel

If you live in a rural or remote area and need to travel more than 50km for specialist medical services not available locally, you may be eligible for the Patient Travel Subsidy Scheme (PTSS) to help with your travel and accommodation costs.

For accommodation located close to the Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital, view the nearest accommodation on Google Maps.

Disability access

We have facilities to assist people with disabilities access the hospital. This includes:

• reserved disability parking bays in car parks
• dedicated drop off zone at the front of the hospital
• access ramp outside the main entrance to the taxi rank
• wheelchairs available at the main entrance. Ask a RBWH Foundation volunteer or the front information desk. Volunteers are available to help Monday-Friday 8.00am-4.00pm
• lifts with braille buttons and audible level announcements to all hospital floors
• accessible toilets located on every floor. Ask staff if you need further directions
• nappy and incontinence bins located throughout the hospital.

Advance care planning

Advance care planning is a process of planning for your future health and personal care so your values, beliefs and preferences are made known. This can help to guide decision-making at a future time if you cannot make or communicate your decisions.

Chaplains

Chaplains offer spiritual support and pastoral care to patients, visitors and staff. This includes:

• an accepting, compassionate, respectful and attentive presence to people of all or no particular faith
• help and support in times of stress or crisis
• prayers and the Sacraments (eg communion) where appropriate
• regular Christian services in the Chapel/Prayer room.

For more information phone (07) 3646 8404, Monday to Friday, 8.00am-4.00pm.

RBWH Chapel/Prayer Room services

Services are held in the Chapel/Prayer Room, Ground Floor, Ned Hanlon Building, next to Metro Cafe. The Prayer Room is open to people of all faiths or for those needing a quiet place for refection.

Support for baby and pregnancy loss

Chaplains provide support to parents who have lost babies. This loss can take place during any time of the pregnancy, including miscarriage, stillbirth and neonatal deaths.

In May each year, there is a Baby Memorial Early Pregnancy Loss and Internment of Ashes service at RBWH for families who have lost a baby before 20 weeks gestation. It starts at the RBWH Chapel and then moves to the Baby Memorial Garden.

In October the Chaplaincy service also recognises International Early Pregnancy and Infant Loss day with a memorial and internment of ashes for all families who have lost a baby. To mark this day, there is a global ‘wave of light’, whereby families light a candle at 7pm local time and leave it burning for at least one hour.

The RBWH Memorial Garden at the Herston was created as a private place for parents and families of babies who have died prior to 20 weeks of gestation. Plaques are available to be added to the Memorial Garden. For more information about ordering a plaque, contact (07) 3646 8404, Monday to Friday 8.00am–4.00pm.