Women's and Children's Health Network, 72 King William Road, Adelaide (2025)

09/12/2025

From tomorrow, many social media platforms won’t be allowed to let Australians under 16 create or keep an account.

eSafety has free conversation starters and a Get-Ready Guide to help. Your family can create an action plan for staying connected to important people and services: brnw.ch/21wY1Mu

Make sure your child knows it's always okay to ask for help. If they're not comfortable talking to you, help them identify other trusted adults.

You can show them eSafety's 'I need help' page, which lists free, confidential services for young people: brnw.ch/21wY1Mx

09/12/2025

“𝙄𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙢𝙞𝙙𝙨𝙩 𝙤𝙛 𝙖 𝙘𝙝𝙞𝙡𝙙’𝙨 𝙗𝙞𝙜𝙜𝙚𝙨𝙩 𝙗𝙖𝙩𝙩𝙡𝙚𝙨, 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙣 𝙖 𝙨𝙢𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙚𝙡𝙛 𝙘𝙖𝙣 𝙗𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙖 𝙨𝙥𝙖𝙧𝙠 𝙤𝙛 𝘾𝙝𝙧𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙢𝙖𝙨 𝙢𝙖𝙜𝙞𝙘. 𝙏𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙮𝙚𝙖𝙧, 𝙞𝙣𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙖𝙙 𝙤𝙛 𝙙𝙚𝙘𝙤𝙧𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙤𝙬𝙣 𝙪𝙣𝙞𝙩, 𝙬𝙚 𝙘𝙝𝙤𝙨𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙙𝙤𝙣𝙖𝙩𝙚, 𝙗𝙚𝙘𝙖𝙪𝙨𝙚 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮 𝙘𝙝𝙞𝙡𝙙 𝙙𝙚𝙨𝙚𝙧𝙫𝙚𝙨 𝙩𝙤 𝙛𝙚𝙚𝙡 𝙨𝙚𝙚𝙣, 𝙡𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙙, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙣𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙖𝙡𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙙𝙪𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙝𝙤𝙡𝙞𝙙𝙖𝙮𝙨.” – Stroke Unit Staff from the RAH

Thank you to the Staff from the Stroke Unit at the Royal Adelaide Hospital (RAH) who generously donated 38 elves to our patients of the Women’s and Children’s Health Network (WCHN) through an ‘Elf Drive’.

Their ‘Elf Drive’ involved purchasing and preparing a collection of Christmas elves, with staff sponsoring and naming an elf, bringing some joy and festive cheer to the children and families under our care.

Thank you so much to the Stroke Unit at the RAH for this thoughtful gesture, and for bringing some festive cheer to our children and families this holiday season. 💖

To donate to our children and families this Christmas, visit the WCH Foundation for more information: https://tinyurl.com/44ftykxt

Central Adelaide

𝘗𝘩𝘰𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘵: 𝘈𝘯𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘸 𝘍𝘪𝘭 𝘈𝘯𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘴

05/12/2025

𝗗𝗼𝘆𝗹𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗲𝘁𝗲𝘀 𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗰𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗪𝗖𝗛 𝗮𝗳𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝟭𝟳.𝟱 𝘆𝗲𝗮𝗿𝘀 🌟

18-year old Doyle recently attended his final Renal appointment at the Women’s and Children’s Hospital (WCH) before moving to adult services at the Royal Adelaide Hospital (RAH).

His journey at WCH has taken him through almost every area of the hospital, with key moments including a Chronic Kidney Disease diagnosis at 3 months old, a kidney transplant just before his 3rd birthday, and treatment for Leukaemia from January to July 2024.

Liz, Doyle’s mum shared, “It has been a huge month for him as he graduated high school with his friends despite battling cancer for most of last year. He also bought his first car and got his P's, attended his school formal, turned 18 and has now gotten a job as a storeman.”

“On top of all that he attended his last Renal appointment after roughly 17 and a half years. For the first time, Doyle attended this appointment without either myself or his Dad there, now that he can drive himself.”

“He told me that on the way home he cried for a bit because he was both happy and sad. Happy to be moving into adulthood and taking control of his health issues, but sad because all those doctors and nurses in Renal have been like a second family to him and he is going to miss them like crazy.”

“For me, I am both relieved and saddened. The relief that we all made it. That we worked with staff in so many departments and we managed to overcome so many obstacles and get him to the age of 18 and ready to tackle the adult world of medicine.”

“The sadness is that I’ll never be able to repay the kindness and overwhelming support I received from some very special staff at this hospital – especially the awesome Renal Nurses and Doctors. I don't quite know what to do with myself going forward since I have been so hands on for so long, but I am sure I will adjust.”

We’re so proud of everything Doyle has achieved and wish him all the best as he transitions into this new stage of life. 💙

You can read more about Doyle’s story visit https://www.facebook.com/share/p/17bFfeQAoW/

03/12/2025

Meet 15-year-old Tahliyah. She loves to listen to music and spend time with her dog, a miniature schnauzer called Emmi. Today we are sharing her story to celebrate International Day of People with Disability (IDPwD).

Tahliyah has ECHS1 (a rare genetic mitochondrial disorder), spasticity, scoliosis, and global developmental delay, is nonverbal and a full-time wheelchair user.

But Tahliyah hasn’t let her medical conditions and disabilities stop her from chasing her dreams, including co-authoring a book.

Over Tahliyah’s life, she’s been supported by various teams across the Women’s and Children’s Health Network (WCHN), including Dr Drago from the Metabolic Clinic, Dr Smith from Neurology, and teams from Respiratory, Paediatric Rehabilitation, Ophthalmology, 3D Health, as well as many others.

Jacqui, Tahliyah’s mum shares, “There’s so much I could say about Tahliyah, we are super proud of her. She has an amazing team around her, all encouraging her to be the best she can be.”

“Tahliyah’s health journey has been a bumpy road. We spent many years in the unknown world without a diagnosis, but even with diagnosis, it still hasn't offered any real help with what to expect.”

“We make sure we follow all physio and occupational therapy (OT) programs and doctor advice to keep her well. We have an amazing team around Tahliyah who work together to help us make sure she is well supported.”

“It’s a full time job when you have a child with a disability. We as a family always try to make everything as inclusive as possible so Tahliyah and her friends get to experience as much as their peers.”

Over the last year, Tahliyah has worked with her speech therapist to use her Augmentative and Alternative Communication (ACC) devices to co-author her book ‘The Monster & The Vet’.

“She used her AAC to design the characters and to describe what they do. The speech therapist put Tahliyahs words into sentences to bring the story to life,” says Jacqui

A big thank you to Jacqui and Tahliyah for sharing your story and showing what’s possible despite challenges. 💗

01/12/2025

15 year old Raeshawn is a regular visitor to the Women’s and Children’s Hospital (WCH) and to say thank you to our staff, his step-dad, Brenton (back right) has painted and gifted this artwork to our Adolescent Ward.

The painting represents Raeshawn’s admissions to the ward and his “12 favourite nurses”.

“𝘐𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 12 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘧𝘧 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘨𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘺𝘰𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘙𝘢𝘦𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘸𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘶𝘴 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘴.” says Brenton and Amy (Raeshawn's Mum).

On behalf of our Adolescent Ward, thank you so much to Brenton, Amy and Raeshawn for this beautiful gift.

Raeshawn is pictured with nurses L-R – Clancy, David, Madeline, Kahyla and Rhiannon.

28/11/2025

“𝙄 𝙫𝙖𝙡𝙪𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙚𝙣𝙨𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙥𝙪𝙧𝙥𝙤𝙨𝙚 𝙫𝙤𝙡𝙪𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙚𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙜𝙞𝙫𝙚𝙨 𝙢𝙚 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙛𝙚𝙚𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙤𝙛 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙩𝙧𝙞𝙗𝙪𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙜𝙞𝙫𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙗𝙖𝙘𝙠 𝙩𝙤 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙢𝙪𝙣𝙞𝙩𝙮.” – Jenny, WCHN volunteer

For 15 years, Jenny has been a much loved volunteer across the Women’s and Children’s Health Network (WCHN). With a lifelong background in early childhood education, she continues to support young children and families through her roles in the Child and Family Health Service (CaFHS), Torrens House and now the Neonatal Services at the Women’s and Children’s Hospital (WCH).

Jenny’s warmth and genuine care has made a profound difference to parents and their babies, whether that’s through comforting a distressed newborn, sharing a reassuring conversation or simply being a steady support on the ward. She is also an active member of the Volunteer Advisory Group, helping strengthen the experience of volunteers across WCHN.

Thank you, Jenny, for your remarkable 15 years of service. Your kindness, dedication and generosity continue to make a meaningful difference every day. 💜

To learn more about becoming a volunteer with us, visit wchn.sa.gov.au/volunteers

27/11/2025

Is your child due for their child health and development check?

While you can book in to see the Child and Family Health Service (CaFHS) at any time between birth and 5 years, we offer key child health and development checks at the following ages:

🔹 1-4 weeks
🔹 8 weeks
🔹 6-9 months
🔹 12 months
🔹 18-24 months
🔹 3 years
🔹 4-5 years

These checks are an important part of your child’s development, providing an opportunity to check in on how they are progressing and identify any concerns early so we can connect you with the right support.

The first five years of a child’s life are critical for their lifelong health, development and wellbeing. This is where (when) their brain develops at its fastest – paving the way for their physical, social, emotional and cognitive development.

To book your child’s health and development check, call 1300 733 606.

To learn more, visit https://tinyurl.com/mup5z2fy

26/11/2025

⁨“𝘐 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘢𝘭 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘯𝘧𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘭 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘵𝘩 - 𝘪𝘵’𝘴 𝘴𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘢 𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘭𝘦𝘨𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘢 𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳, 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘴𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘧𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘴. 𝘐’𝘮 𝘢𝘭𝘴𝘰 𝘭𝘶𝘤𝘬𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘱𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘨𝘶𝘦𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘴𝘥𝘰𝘮 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘦𝘯𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘴 𝘮𝘺 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘥𝘢𝘺.” – Maddison, PIMHS Consultant Psychiatrist (pictured back row, second to left)

This Perinatal Mental Health Week we’re highlighting our incredible Perinatal and Infant Mental Health Service (PIMHS) Liaison Team at the Women’s and Children’s Hospital (WCH). They provide mental health support to parents and infants who are admitted to the hospital or receiving care from one of the outpatient departments.

Our clinicians see firsthand how support can improve and strengthen early relational health between caregivers and their infants and prevent mental health difficulties from escalating.

A heartfelt thank you to PIMHS team for your dedicated care and for providing mental health support to parents and infants in the most vulnerable of times. 💜

A referral is required from a healthcare professional to access this service.

For more information about PIMHS, visit https://tinyurl.com/mrhw8dmk

⁩

25/11/2025

𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗗𝗮𝘆 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗘𝗹𝗶𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗼𝗳 𝗩𝗶𝗼𝗹𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗔𝗴𝗮𝗶𝗻𝘀𝘁 𝗪𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗻 – 𝟭𝟲 𝗗𝗮𝘆𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗔𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗶𝘀𝗺 💜

Technology facilitated abuse (TFA) is on the rise across digital platforms – join Sarah Cooper, the Director of Health and Recovery, Trauma Safety Services (HaRTSS) as she explains TFA and the services available to support those affected.

This year’s theme, ‘End digital violence against all women and girls’, emphasises the importance of creating safer online spaces for everyone. Our HaRTSS team is contributing to this change by driving sustainable system improvements through the Ask, Assess, Respond process. In September 2025, Dr Kristina Birchmore and the team were recognised with the Impact on Ending Domestic, Family and Sexual Violence Award by the Office for Women.

HaRTSS have a variety of services that are here to help you:
🔹 Cedar Health Service: Inclusive domestic and family violence healthcare for people aged 16+ affected by abusive behaviour – https://tinyurl.com/3w3th4mn
🔹 Metropolitan Youth Health: Trauma-responsive youth health service for young people aged 12–25 – https://tinyurl.com/4mpybvfr
🔹 Yarrow Place: South Australia’s dedicated r**e and sexual assault service, available 24/7 for anyone aged 16+ – https://tinyurl.com/yan3zwrw

For further support services, please visit:
🔹 eSafety Commissioner - https://www.esafety.gov.au/
🔹 1800RESPECT - https://1800respect.org.au/
🔹 13YARN - https://www.13yarn.org.au/

For anyone who is currently using TFA, we also encourage them to seek support services:
🔹 MensLine - https://mensline.org.au/

24/11/2025

𝘋𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘰 𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘱𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘊𝘩𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘮𝘢𝘴 🎄🎁 If you are interested in donating, new and unwrapped gifts can be dropped off at:

Women’s and Children’s Hospital Foundation
55 King William St, North Adelaide
Mondays to Fridays from 9am to 4pm from now until Monday, 18 December 2025.

To read our wishlist and find out which items we most need visit: https://wchfoundation.org.au/christmastoys/

Thank you for making a difference this Christmas and to the WCH Foundation for their support! 💙

21/11/2025

At 17 years old, Rechel dropped out of school after discovering she was pregnant. Not long after Levi was born, she experienced homelessness – a period that coincided with Levi’s first birthday.

Realising she needed to make a change for her and Levi, Rechel found the support she needed through the Talking Realities Program, run by our Metropolitan Youth Health (MYH) Service, in partnership with Thebarton Senior College.

Talking Realities offers accredited, flexible learning programs, support services and group activities for young parents under the age of 25.

“Levi was and still is, my whole life. I thought ‘if I stop coming to school, stop all my support systems, nothing is going to be working for me or my child and that’s not going to be good for him in the long run’."

With the support of Caras, a Teacher and Social Worker in the program, Rechel found the confidence to return to her schooling.

“Caras really slowed everything down for me. I would ask her to explain things over and over and over again, and she didn’t care; she would sit with me and go through it again and again if I needed it.”

Thanks to the dedicated team at Talking Realities, Rechel, now 23, will be completing her SACE this year, 6 years after she initially started.

“I want to become a social worker to help other young parents, especially if they have a child on the spectrum. I was helped when I felt very stuck and very alone.”

Talking Realities is a lifeline for young parents under 25, and has helped many finish their schooling, access housing and secure employment.

Thank you to Rechel for sharing your story with us. 💞

For more information on our Talking Realities Program, visit https://tinyurl.com/yc7tyuw9

20/11/2025

🫶 𝗪𝗼𝗿𝗹𝗱 𝗖𝗵𝗶𝗹𝗱𝗿𝗲𝗻’𝘀 𝗗𝗮𝘆 🫶

We’re celebrating all the incredible children that the Women’s and Children’s Health Network (WCHN) cares for each year.

You bring smiles to our faces every day, and you remind us why we do what we do.

In 2024-25, we:

🔹 Cared for over 36,852 inpatients
🔹 Provided more than 381,370 outpatient appointments
🔹 Welcomed 4,727 babies into the world
🔹 Delivered 147,494 Child and Family Health Service (CaFHS) appointments
🔹 Delivered 5,939 Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) appointments
🔹 Delivered 1,578 3D Health appointments
🔹 Accepted 53,230 Emergency Department presentations
🔹 Delivered 24,221 Child and Adolescent Virtual Urgent Care Services (CAVUCS) appointments

We’re so grateful to every family who has trusted us with their care and shared their stories with us. 💙

Women's and Children's Health Network

09/12/2025

09/12/2025

05/12/2025

03/12/2025

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28/11/2025

27/11/2025

26/11/2025

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24/11/2025

21/11/2025

20/11/2025

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