Perth locals have been asked to get behind a fundraising blitz to raise an ambitious $100,000 in 24 hours to help improve medical research at Sir Charles Gairdner and Osborne Park hospitals.

The Charlies Foundation for Research’s annual Giving Day on Wednesday will raise money for seven practical projects identified and developed by teams from the two hospitals.

The teams work in SCGH’s Cancer Centre, transplant research, emergency and intensive care, and in ward four at Osborne Park Hospital.

Foundation CEO Vicki Rasmussen said the projects would enable each team to make seemingly small changes that could make a profound difference to patients and their families during treatment and long-term recovery.

“Giving Day gives our community the opportunity to directly support projects that hospital teams know will make a difference to patients and families,” she said.

“We fully believe that when our community comes together for one day, we can achieve our $100,000 target, which is extraordinary for our hospitals and the people who rely on them.”

Senior physiotherapist Christiane Purcell-Wells, who works in SCGH’s breast centre, hopes Giving Day will enable her team to purchase two specialised scanners that will help clinicians identify and treat lymphedema in the breast earlier.

The condition, in which fluid builds up in soft tissues, can be a painful and debilitating consequence of breast cancer treatment, affecting survivors’ comfort, mobility and quality of life.

While managing the condition in a patient’s arm or shoulder is now well researched and managed, Ms Purcell-Wells said breast tissue lymphedema was not.

“It’s much easier to deal with early changes than established lymphedema,” she said.

“With the lymphscanner, we can measure the percentage of water content in the breast at different points.

“If you have had a breast surgery and are at risk, or we are seeing some changes, then I can evaluate that, we can do some treatments and we can see whether it is going up or down over time. That’s so helpful... as we can help the patient reflect on their own self-management and also be really on the front foot in making sure we deal with the changes in the earliest stage.”

Giving Day funds will also be directed to SCGH’s Cancer Centre’s Celebrating the Fight project to replace the celebration bells that patients ring at the end of their treatment, bring in artwork to create a more peaceful environment and install opportunities for people to leave messages of hope.

The funds will also help pay for staff, small pieces of equipment, travel and professional development within SCGH’s immunology and transplantation lab, as well as modernise the facilities emergency department staff use to train.

The team at Osborne Park’s ward four will receive funds to upgrade their therapeutic garden to create a safe, accessible, stimulating but dementia-friendly space for families to visit with patients.

“The projects funded through Giving Day are ultimately about helping people have better experiences and better outcomes when they need our hospitals most,” Ms Rasmussen said.

Donations made on Giving Day will be matched by the foundation’s partners.

Donations can be made at charliesfoundation.org.au