Ranui, a Place of Compassion /
Ranui House, a much needed home away from home
For out-of-town hospital patients and their families who live a long way from Christchurch Hospital, Ranui House is a welcoming home away from home during treatment. A new construction phase is now underway to further extend this invaluable not-for-profit service, which is funded by grants and public donations.
Aserious health diagnosis would be hard enough to cope with, but imagine all the extra stress if you then had to go to another city for treatment that could take weeks or months. Thankfully, eligible patients and their families who need to spend time away from home for treatment at Christchurch Hospital can stay for free at Ranui House. Run by the Bone Marrow Cancer Trust (BMCT), Ranui House actually comprises two buildings. Affectionately known as ‘Little Ranui’ and ‘Big Ranui’ and completed respectively in 1993 and 2008, the two well-appointed low rises are conveniently located in the central city, a stone’s throw from the main hospital. All up, there are 26 self-contained oneand two-bedroom residential apartments and both buildings have communal lounges, dining and kitchen areas on the ground floor.
I must have walked by Ranui, across the road from the Antigua Boatsheds, countless times over the years without registering its significance. I do not really know what to expect when I arrive for my interview there with BMCT CEO Allison Nicol, who lives full-time at Ranui. From the reception area, we walk through a small landscaped garden to Big Ranui. Inside, we pass through a spacious, well-appointed kitchen/dining area to a large, comfortable family lounge. Everything is immaculately tidy and spotless. Allison has a friendly, reassuring manner that I’m sure must help put patients and their families at ease.
As we settle into our interview, it soon becomes clear that the story of Ranui and Allison’s connection with it go back a long way. Many years ago, her son Andrew was diagnosed with leukaemia. At the time, she was working as a Karitane nurse and raising her two sons on her own. The diagnosis was shattering. ‘They told me he would not live another six months. You never expect something like that to happen.
Your world falls apart. He was in treatment every day for nine months and then every week for two and a half years. Miraculously, he survived and is today married with four children. Looking back, I don’t know how we would have coped if we had not already been living in Christchurch at the time.’
Allison says her family’s personal experience opened her eyes to the needs of other families going through difficult times with cancer. Driven by a desire to help she founded the Child Cancer Foundation in Christchurch, leading local fundraising efforts to establish dedicated family accommodation here. She then became aware of the city’s pressing need for a Bone Marrow Transplant Unit and, in 1990, set up the BMCT as a charitable trust to raise funds for the unit and associated patient accommodation. It was a very successful initiative, raising $2.5 million. By December 1991 the city had its transplant unit, with the accommodation (Little Ranui) opening just over a year later. ‘I’d realised that the unit would not work well without accommodation for
Today, Ranui is the city’s only purpose-built accommodation taking patients from every department of Christchurch Hospital and Christchurch Women’s Hospital.
patients, who might need to be here for months. It has been proven that patients with family support do better than those without, so I knew family members would need somewhere to stay as well.’
While Little Ranui was built primarily for out-of-town haematology patients and their families, demand for patient accommodation from other departments soon began to rise. In 2005, the BMCT conducted a feasibility study that provided a compelling case for expanding Ranui’s original purpose and growing its facilities. ‘In 18 months, we raised $7 million and opened Big Ranui as a freehold building in March 2008.’
Today, Ranui is the city’s only purpose-built accommodation taking patients from every department of Christchurch Hospital and Christchurch Women’s Hospital. The patients themselves come from throughout the South Island, including South Canterbury, the West Coast, Southland, Nelson Bays, Marlborough, Central Otago and the Chatham Islands. Some end up staying for months, even years. It is not unusual for haematology patients to need six months or a year at Ranui.
‘We get amazing feedback from patients and their families. The people who come here are so grateful – we get so many heartfelt thank you letters…It can be tricky getting across to Christchurch Hospital, so orderlies can come and get patients and bring them back if needed. If the person is an inpatient, their family can stay here while they’re in hospital. It just takes all that stress away.’
While Ranui receives a basic subsidy for every eligible out-of-town patient that qualifies for assistance, this not
for-profit service relies on grants, donations and fundraising events to help cover remaining operational costs. One of these fundraisers, an annual golf tournament at the Christchurch Golf Club, is taking place on 1 November (details can be found online at bmct.org.nz).
The BMCT is now also actively fundraising to build an additional 42 fully-self-contained apartments in Selwyn Street to cater for ever-rising demand. Construction is due to start before Christmas (2019). The fundraising target for 2019/20 is $2 million. Higgs Construction is the project builder, with director Paul Harris working closely with Allison.
Ranui Apartments, as it will be known, will be able to provide single-night stays. This has not been an option previously and will help address a growing need for shortterm accommodation for out-of-town families requiring outpatient care at Christchurch Hospital. The new apartments will have a flexible three-key system, meaning its 42 spacious apartments can be converted into 80 smaller ones, as required. Four north-facing units for disabled patients will be sited on the ground floor.
‘We get amazing feedback from patients and their families.
The people who come here are so grateful – we get so many heartfelt thank you letters.’
Donations to assist the BMCT’s work in keeping families together and providing a home away from home can be made online at: givealittle.co.nz/donate/org/bmct.