For less than 1% of its replacement cost, serviceable second-hand hospital equipment can be shipped to hospitals in need and local staff trained in its maintenance and repair.
Born out of a long-standing friendship between Osborne Park Rotarian, Pip Asphar, and Orthopaedic Surgeon, Dr. Tim Keenan, Rotary has been the driving force behind this program for the past 16 years.
Leveraging Dr. Keenan’s existing relationships with doctors at the Kossamak Hospital and the Russian Hospital in Phnom Penh, Cambodia’s capital city, we have been able to deliver fifty 40ft containers filled with equipment including hospital beds, mattresses, X-ray machines, C-Arms and other orthopaedic equipment, along with an ever-growing range of specialised equipment - much of which we take for granted in Australian hospitals.
The success of the program has largely been due to the partnerships formed with Australian hospitals. As technology advances and equipment is superseded, these Australian hospitals are left with an excess of functional equipment that they can no longer afford to maintain or store. We have created an alternative circular economy for this equipment that keeps it out of the rubbish tip - benefitting the hospital supplying the equipment, the hospital receiving it, and the environment overall as we reduce unnecessary landfill. Working with hospital engineers and others around Perth, we have facilitated the donation of surplus equipment to the Rotary Club of Osborne Park (RCOP) and funded and organized the shipments to Cambodia.
As the program has grown, we have been able to expand our offerings to include other vital equipment such as paediatric cribs, wheelchairs, heart monitoring equipment, defibrillators and infusion pumps, theatre beds and theatre lights, ultrasound transducers, and much more. In addition to this, we have also expanded our reach to several other regional hospitals, including funding the development of an operating theatre and recovery ward at the Kampong Speu Hospital.
Logistics of Repurposed Hospital Equipment
The project has seen RCOP members working together; utilizing their networks, fundraising talents, time, and physical strength to manage every aspect of the program from raising awareness and securing donations through to the actual packing of the containers. Our collective networks have secured hospital partnerships with St John of God Subiaco, Osborne Park Hospital, Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital, the Mount Hospital, Fremantle Hospital, Peel Health Campus, Narrogin Hospital, and many others. We have also secured an additional partnership with St John Ambulance Australia who are donating surplus equipment.
The project was registered with the Rotary Australia Repurposed Equipment (RARE) project in 2014, enabling us to accept donations for the transport costs. Rotary Australia World Community Services (RAWCS) tax deductible (DRG) status means we can give donors a tax-deductible receipt.
The ongoing collections have been made possible by Rotarians and volunteers using their personal vehicles, along with trucks loaned free of charge by Budget Truck Rental to collect and transport the equipment. The initial static shipping container, used to store equipment before shipment, was donated by RCOP member, Peter Stewart; a secondary container has since been funded through donations. Free storage space for the container and the donated equipment was originally provided by Brian Savage, CEO of Shipair. Upon Brian’s retirement, Sean Carren stepped in to provide us with free storage space at the Goldstar Transport premises in Kewdale.
The Doctors in Cambodia have organised a system with the Cambodian Army and others to collect the container from the docks, making sure that it is transported safely to the Kossamak Hospital in Phnom Penh, without any further expenses. Equipment is then distributed to hospitals in need from there.
In conjunction with the supply of equipment, several Doctors, Nurses and technicians from hospitals in Perth have donated their time and travelled to Cambodia on their personal time to ensure the equipment is working along with training local hospital staff in using, maintaining, and calibrating the equipment.
Infection Control and the Clinical Nurse Educator Program
In 2016, we further expanded our offering to include a Clinical Nurse Educator program, training local medical staff in hospital hygiene and infection control. Kareen Dunlop spent 9 months in Phnom Penh providing face to face training for the nurses at one Hospital. This project was funded by a philanthropic grant.
Applecross Rotary Club have joined the initiative and donated hand washing basins. The training and equipment have greatly assisted in reducing the mortality rate along with the suffering of the patients.
A lack of understanding around hygiene practices within the hospitals saw up to 40% of the patients who underwent surgery in these hospitals develop an infection. Through the initiative and organization of RCOP member, Pip Asphar, and a generous grant by the Sangora Foundation, we were able to send Kareen to Cambodia for nine months to teach an infection control course.
In 2016, the Rotary Club of Phnom Penh Metro and the Rotary Club of Applecross coordinated an extension of this infection control project. A Rotary Global Grant for US$48,000 was awarded in March 2017 to provide hand basins and other equipment, in a 600-bed hospital with over 1,000 staff and introduce a ‘Wash Hands’ program - all within 7 months. There were four parts to the project.
- Installing 275 hand basins, taps, soap and paper towel dispensers.
- Upgrading the main hospital water supply.
- Installing sinks in the surgical washing areas; and
- Providing a Combined Washing Facility (external).
The project also introduced a Combined Washing Facility to enable all visitors, including children, to wash their hands before entering the hospital and touching patients, to reduce the transmission of infectious diseases. This new facility also enabled families to wash clothes, bedding, and food containers.
Kampong Speu Referral Hospital - Chris Keenan Surgical Complex
RCOP in conjunction with the Hawthorn Rotary Club in Melbourne and a Club in Phnom Penh have assisted a group of retired Orthopaedic Surgeons to build a new operating theatre and surgical wing to the Kampong Speu Referral Hospital. This project saw the construction of two Operating Theatre Annex and provided operating equipment, surgical supplies, and patient hospital beds to enable Orthopaedic surgeons to provide their services to the local community. The work would not have been possible without the generous donation of $300,000 from Mr. Chris Keenan. This funding was managed through a RAWCS project.
Preliminary plans for the wing were drawn up in Cambodia and were reviewed and refined by a specialist Perth Architectural practice. The plans have enabled the work to be completed by local builders with a construction budget substantially lower than would be incurred in Australia for similar work.
Following the opening of the operating theatres in 2022, the need for a recovery ward was identified. With 140-150 surgeries performed every month in these new theatres, the need to accommodate post-operative patients is significant. Our project funded the refurbishment and fit out of the ground floor of the building, installing 24 beds to accommodate these patients’ recovery. The project is ongoing and will continue to develop on the existing six story hospital progressively. Funding has once again been generously provided by Mr. Chris Keenan to the tune of $200,000.
RCOP have collected and coordinated sending hospital beds, patient tables and lockers, and other supportive medical equipment and supplies including bed sheets and blankets obtained through donations. The outcome has improved the quality of health care for those patients receiving post operative care.
Recognition for the Project
The King of Cambodia his Majesty King Norodom Sihamony, has by Royal Decree bestowed on Pip Asphar, Tim Keenan, Peter Lugg and Kareen Dunlop the Monisaraphon Medal, Grand Cross (Mohasereyvath) class. This is believed to be the highest award that the King can bestow on someone, a tremendous honour for all of them. The award ceremony was held in February 2025.
This project is a flagship for the Rotary Club of Osborne Park, and we appreciate the many supporters involved from hospitals in Perth, to other Rotary Clubs, to benefactors such as Chris Keenan. By partnering with RAWCS we have been able to maximize our financial impact.
Our club continues to support this project and have started a crowd funding campaign to help with the costs. This project has now been expanded to include hospitals in Mongolia
