Royal North Shore Hospital
Encyclopedia
The Royal North Shore Hospital (RNSH) is a major public teaching hospital
in Sydney
, Australia
, located in St Leonards
. It serves as a teaching hospital for Sydney Medical School at the University of Sydney
and has approximately 740 beds. It is the referral hospital for Northern Sydney and the Central Coast. Its primary referral area accommodates 5.7% of the Australian population or 17% of the NSW population.
. The foundation stone was laid by Sir Henry Parkes
, 18 June 1887. The hospital was opened with accommodation for 14 patients, with the requisite office and rooms for the medical and nursing staff. Medical staff numbered 4 honorary doctors and nursing staff numbered 5. The site of the original hospital was bounded by Willoughby Rd., Albany and Holterman Streets and Zig Zag Lane. The old site is now a busy part of the commercial centre of Crows Nest.
In 1902 it opened on its current site at St Leonards
, with 48 beds available for patients. New departments and wards were added over the next fifty years, reflecting the increasing diversity and professionalisation of healthcare. Polio treatment pioneer Sister Kenny
was invited to set up treatment clinics at the hospital in the mid thirties. However she eventually took her research to America after doctors at the hospital refused to admit that her methods indicated that their own treatments had been damaging. Royal North Shore became a teaching hospital of the University of Sydney
in 1947.
Currently, the Royal North Shore Hospital (RNSH) is a 740 bed hospital situated in St Leonards
on Sydney's lower north shore about 6 km from Sydney's Central Business District, surrounded by suburbs with some of the most stunning harbour views of Sydney. RNSH provides care to the local community, the Northern Sydney Health area (population: 777,000), New South Wales and also to the Pacific Island nations.
The hospital is a leading research and trauma centre with a particular interest and expertise in cancer diagnosis and treatment, cardiovascular disease, spinal cord injury, severe burn injury, neonatal, intensive care, neurosurgery, pain management and anaesthesia. The Kolling Institute of Medical Research
is situated at the hospital. RNSH provides postgraduate training in a number of specialties, including medicine, surgery, nursing and allied health.
The Hospital is currently undergoing total redevelopment. Approval for construction was given in July 2000. The new clinical services building (The Douglas Building) marks the first stage of the redevelopment of the entire hospital campus. The NSW government has allocated approximately A$450 million for this project, the largest in NSW Health history. This new development is intended to ensure the hospital maintains its role as a health care leader in Australia.
The unnecessary, tragic and avoidable death of schoolgirl Vanessa Anderson in 2005 drew sustained criticism. The problem is especially apparent after the Jana Horska case in September 2007, when a pregnant woman suffered a miscarriage in the hospital's toilet as a result of a lack of available beds and staff, and a neurosurgeon's claim that a patient had to wait 5 days for an urgent spinal surgery owing to a lack of staff.
Following Jana Horska's case, the State Government established the Joint Select Committee on the Royal North Shore Hospital in the New South Wales Parliament on 23 October 2007, chaired by Christian Democrats
leader Fred Nile
MLC. The committee was formally established on 23 October 2007, and tabled its report on 20 December 2007. The report made 45 recommendations.
In early 2008, a Special Commission of Inquiry into Acute Care Services in NSW Public Hospitals was commissioned. This comprehensive and ground breaking commission became known as The Garling Report
. It reported in November 2008. The NSW State Government responded in March 2009.
Teaching hospital
A teaching hospital is a hospital that provides clinical education and training to future and current doctors, nurses, and other health professionals, in addition to delivering medical care to patients...
in Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, located in St Leonards
St Leonards
- Places :in the United Kingdom:*St Leonards, Buckinghamshire*St Leonards, Dorset*St Leonards-on-Sea, Hastings, East Sussex*St Leonards, East Kilbride*St Leonards, Edinburgh*St Leonards railway station*St Leonard's , Lambeth, London...
. It serves as a teaching hospital for Sydney Medical School at the University of Sydney
University of Sydney
The University of Sydney is a public university located in Sydney, New South Wales. The main campus spreads across the suburbs of Camperdown and Darlington on the southwestern outskirts of the Sydney CBD. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and Oceania...
and has approximately 740 beds. It is the referral hospital for Northern Sydney and the Central Coast. Its primary referral area accommodates 5.7% of the Australian population or 17% of the NSW population.
History
The Royal North Shore Hospital began as a cottage hospital located in Willoughby Rd, Crows NestCrows Nest, New South Wales
Crows Nest is a suburb on the lower North Shore of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Crows Nest is located 5 kilometres north of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of North Sydney Council.-History:...
. The foundation stone was laid by Sir Henry Parkes
Henry Parkes
Sir Henry Parkes, GCMG was an Australian statesman, the "Father of Federation." As the earliest advocate of a Federal Council of the colonies of Australia, a precursor to the Federation of Australia, he was the most prominent of the Australian Founding Fathers.Parkes was described during his...
, 18 June 1887. The hospital was opened with accommodation for 14 patients, with the requisite office and rooms for the medical and nursing staff. Medical staff numbered 4 honorary doctors and nursing staff numbered 5. The site of the original hospital was bounded by Willoughby Rd., Albany and Holterman Streets and Zig Zag Lane. The old site is now a busy part of the commercial centre of Crows Nest.
St Leonards, New South Wales
St Leonards is a suburb on the lower North Shore of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. St Leonards is located 5 km north-west of the Sydney central business district and lies across the local government areas of Municipality of Lane Cove, North Sydney Council and the City of...
, with 48 beds available for patients. New departments and wards were added over the next fifty years, reflecting the increasing diversity and professionalisation of healthcare. Polio treatment pioneer Sister Kenny
Elizabeth Kenny
Elizabeth Kenny was an unqualified Australian nurse who promoted a controversial new approach to the treatment of poliomyelitis in the era before mass vaccination eradicated the disease in most countries.-Youth:...
was invited to set up treatment clinics at the hospital in the mid thirties. However she eventually took her research to America after doctors at the hospital refused to admit that her methods indicated that their own treatments had been damaging. Royal North Shore became a teaching hospital of the University of Sydney
University of Sydney
The University of Sydney is a public university located in Sydney, New South Wales. The main campus spreads across the suburbs of Camperdown and Darlington on the southwestern outskirts of the Sydney CBD. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and Oceania...
in 1947.
Currently, the Royal North Shore Hospital (RNSH) is a 740 bed hospital situated in St Leonards
St Leonards, New South Wales
St Leonards is a suburb on the lower North Shore of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. St Leonards is located 5 km north-west of the Sydney central business district and lies across the local government areas of Municipality of Lane Cove, North Sydney Council and the City of...
on Sydney's lower north shore about 6 km from Sydney's Central Business District, surrounded by suburbs with some of the most stunning harbour views of Sydney. RNSH provides care to the local community, the Northern Sydney Health area (population: 777,000), New South Wales and also to the Pacific Island nations.
The hospital is a leading research and trauma centre with a particular interest and expertise in cancer diagnosis and treatment, cardiovascular disease, spinal cord injury, severe burn injury, neonatal, intensive care, neurosurgery, pain management and anaesthesia. The Kolling Institute of Medical Research
Kolling Institute of Medical Research
The Kolling Institute of Medical Research is located on the grounds of the Royal North Shore Hospital in St Leonards, Sydney Australia. The institute, founded in 1920, is the oldest medical research institute in New South Wales....
is situated at the hospital. RNSH provides postgraduate training in a number of specialties, including medicine, surgery, nursing and allied health.
The Hospital is currently undergoing total redevelopment. Approval for construction was given in July 2000. The new clinical services building (The Douglas Building) marks the first stage of the redevelopment of the entire hospital campus. The NSW government has allocated approximately A$450 million for this project, the largest in NSW Health history. This new development is intended to ensure the hospital maintains its role as a health care leader in Australia.
Controversy
As with many other Sydney hospitals, RNSH has, in recent times, suffered budget cuts due to an alleged state government policy of redistributing health resources.The unnecessary, tragic and avoidable death of schoolgirl Vanessa Anderson in 2005 drew sustained criticism. The problem is especially apparent after the Jana Horska case in September 2007, when a pregnant woman suffered a miscarriage in the hospital's toilet as a result of a lack of available beds and staff, and a neurosurgeon's claim that a patient had to wait 5 days for an urgent spinal surgery owing to a lack of staff.
Following Jana Horska's case, the State Government established the Joint Select Committee on the Royal North Shore Hospital in the New South Wales Parliament on 23 October 2007, chaired by Christian Democrats
Christian Democratic Party (Australia)
The Christian Democratic Party is a right-wing political party in Australia. Its leader is Fred Nile, a Congregational Church minister and a member of the New South Wales Legislative Council.-Formation:...
leader Fred Nile
Fred Nile
Frederick John "Fred" Nile is an Australian politician and clergyman. Nile has been a member of the New South Wales Legislative Council since 1981, except for a period in 2004 when he resigned to contest the Australian Senate at the 2004 federal election...
MLC. The committee was formally established on 23 October 2007, and tabled its report on 20 December 2007. The report made 45 recommendations.
In early 2008, a Special Commission of Inquiry into Acute Care Services in NSW Public Hospitals was commissioned. This comprehensive and ground breaking commission became known as The Garling Report
The Garling Report
The "Final Report of the Special Commission of Inquiry into Acute Care Services in NSW Public Hospitals", by Commissioner Peter Garling, is a 2008 report from Australia known in the media as The Garling Report....
. It reported in November 2008. The NSW State Government responded in March 2009.