Royal Perth Hospital
Encyclopedia
Central business district
A central business district is the commercial and often geographic heart of a city. In North America this part of a city is commonly referred to as "downtown" or "city center"...
of Perth
Perth, Western Australia
Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia and the fourth most populous city in Australia. The Perth metropolitan area has an estimated population of almost 1,700,000....
, Western Australia
Western Australia
Western Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Great Australian Bight and Indian Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east and South Australia to the south-east...
(31°57′15"S 115°51′59"E). Royal Perth Hospital also has specialised rehabilitation facilities at Shenton Park
Shenton Park, Western Australia
Shenton Park is a suburb of Perth, Western Australia, located within the City of Subiaco and 4 km west of the Central business district. Its postcode is 6008...
.
History
The Hospital traces its history back to the first colonial hospital which was established in a tent on Garden Island, just off the coast of Western Australia, in June 1829. In June 1830, the hospital tent was re-erected in Cathedral Avenue, Perth. From 1833 a more substantial colonial hospital operated for a short time from a rented room in a private house. Six years later, in December 1840, this was re-opened in a building formerly used as stables on the corner of St Georges Terrace and Irwin Street. The Hospital commenced operations on its present site on 14 July 1855 and was formally named the Colonial Hospital. In the years since, the Hospital has been known variously as the Perth Public Hospital, the Perth Hospital and finally, from 1946, as Royal Perth Hospital.Future
During 2005 the Western Australian Government announced plans to relocate RPH operations to purpose built facilities in MurdochMurdoch, Western Australia
Murdoch is a suburb of Perth, Western Australia, located within the City of Melville. Murdoch University and St John of God Hospital Murdoch are located in Murdoch, as will be the proposed Fiona Stanley Hospital. The suburb is named after Sir Walter Murdoch....
, the new facilities will be known as the Fiona Stanley Hospital
Fiona Stanley Hospital
Fiona Stanley Hospital is a new hospital which is under construction in Murdoch, Western Australia. It is the largest building project ever undertaken for the Government of Western Australia....
.
The Liberal Party of Western Australia has initiated a campaign led by Leader Troy Buswell
Troy Buswell
Troy Raymond Buswell is currently the Liberal member for the Western Australian Legislative Assembly seat of Vasse, and the Minister for Transport and Minister for Housing. He was Leader of the Opposition for several months in 2008, then served as Treasurer of Western Australia in the Barnett...
and Opposition Health Minister Kim Hames to save RPH from early closure.
Facilities
As well as providing a comprehensive array of medical services for adults, Royal Perth exists as a teaching hospital, having close associations with Western Australia's four major universities and TAFE institutions. This allows tertiary institutions to provide practical, professional education opportunities and ensures Royal Perth has well-trained and capable staff.
Royal Perth also fosters relationships with WA's other hospitals, including Sir Charles Gardiner, Fremantle Hospital and Princess Margaret's Children's Hospital, ensuring all services are available to inpatients, even if RPH doesn't provide them in itself.
Also of note is Royal Perth's leading Burns Unit, developing cutting edge technology to assist in the rehabilitation of burns victims.
Research
The Head of Research at Royal Perth Hospital is Professor Peter Leedman, and RPH is a leading researcher into both patient recovery and improvements in staff practices. RPH shares its campus with several other major research foundations, including the Western Australian Institute for Medical Research, ensuring several research projects are taking place at any one time.The high standing of RPH researchers is demonstrated by their significant contribution to the annals of international scientific literature each year. In 1998, a total of 158 articles and 114 abstracts were published in refereed medical, nursing and scientific journals. In addition, staff presented a total of 190 papers at national and international professional conferences.
Shenton Park
The Royal Perth Rehabilitation Hospital was first established as an isolation tent hospital in the bush at Shenton Park during the outbreak of smallpoxSmallpox
Smallpox was an infectious disease unique to humans, caused by either of two virus variants, Variola major and Variola minor. The disease is also known by the Latin names Variola or Variola vera, which is a derivative of the Latin varius, meaning "spotted", or varus, meaning "pimple"...
in April 1893. This hospital, variously known as the Isolation Hospital, the Victoria Hospital, the Infectious Diseases Branch and finally as the Royal Perth Rehabilitation Hospital, commenced its role as a major rehabilitation hospital with the rehabilitation of polio patients following the epidemic of 1948-56.
Personalities
Several well-known practitioners and medical researchers have worked at Royal Perth Hospital over the years, including Dr Fiona WoodFiona Wood
Fiona Melanie Wood, AM is a British born plastic surgeon working in Perth, Western Australia. She is the director of the Royal Perth Hospital burns unit and the Western Australia Burns Service...
, winner of the 2005 Australian of the Year Award, and Professor Barry Marshall
Barry Marshall
Barry James Marshall, AC, FRS, FAA is an Australian physician, Nobel Prize laureate in Physiology or Medicine, and Professor of Clinical Microbiology at the University of Western Australia. Marshall is well-known for proving that the bacterium Helicobacter pylori Barry James Marshall, AC, FRS, FAA...
and Dr Robin Warren
Robin Warren
John Robin Warren AC is an Australian pathologist, Nobel Laureate and researcher who is credited with the 1979 re-discovery of the bacterium Helicobacter pylori, together with Barry Marshall.- Life and career :...
, winners of the 2005 Nobel Laureates in Physiology
Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine administered by the Nobel Foundation, is awarded once a year for outstanding discoveries in the field of life science and medicine. It is one of five Nobel Prizes established in 1895 by Swedish chemist Alfred Nobel, the inventor of dynamite, in his will...
, adding to its prestigious reputation.
The Royal Perth Hospital motto is 'Servio'. The Hospital logo is based on the arms of the City of Perth
Perth, Western Australia
Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia and the fourth most populous city in Australia. The Perth metropolitan area has an estimated population of almost 1,700,000....
and was first introduced in 1935. It comprises the St George's Cross
St George's Cross
St George's Cross is a red cross on a white background used as a symbolic reference to Saint George. The red cross on white was associated with St George from medieval times....
on a white shield with a black swan
Black Swan
The Black Swan is a large waterbird, a species of swan, which breeds mainly in the southeast and southwest regions of Australia. The species was hunted to extinction in New Zealand, but later reintroduced. Within Australia they are nomadic, with erratic migration patterns dependent upon climatic...
in the top left canton and a banner inscribed with the word 'Servio.'
Further reading
- Bolton, G. C. and Joske, Prue (1982) History of Royal Perth Hospital Perth, W.A : Royal Perth Hospital; Nedlands, W.A : distributed by University of Western Australia Press, 1982. ISBN 0959703918
- Royal Perth (Rehabilitation) Hospital, Shenton Park - history of the hospital and its various name changes since 1893, Servio newsletter, April, 1993, p.1-4.
- The story of North Block, the part of RPH on the north side of Wellington Street. Servio news, Feb. 1999, p. 3-4.
Colonial hospital
- Brief history of Colonial Hospital, Perth, 1830-1852. 1948. Research Note 83 (Battye Library).
- Creelman, Mabel Hope. The Colonial Hospital, Perth: and how it became Perth Public Hospital, and Perth's first training school for nurses. Perth, W.A. The author.