Royal Children's Hospital

Regarded as one of the great children’s hospitals globally, the hospital and its facilities are internationally recognised as a “leading centre for paediatrics”. The hospital serves the entire states of Victoria, and Tasmania, as well as southern New South Wales and parts of South Australia.

Royal Children's Hospital
Geography
Location	Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Coordinates	37°47′42″S 144°56′59″E / 37.79500°S 144.94972°E / -37.79500; 144.94972
Organisation
Care system	Medicare
Type	Specialist
Affiliated university	University of Melbourne and Murdoch Children's Research Institute
Services
Beds	340
Speciality	Children's hospital
Helipads
Helipad	(ICAO: YRHO)
Number Length Surface ft m 1 aluminium 2 aluminium 3 aluminium
History
Opened	1870 (founding) 2011 (present site)
Links
Website	www.rch.org.au

As a major specialist paediatric hospital in Victoria, the Royal Children's Hospital provides a full range of clinical services, tertiary care, as well as health promotion and prevention programs for children and young people.

The hospital is the designated statewide major trauma centre for paediatrics in Victoria and a Nationally Funded Centre for cardiac and liver transplantation.

Its campus partners are the Murdoch Children's Research Institute and The University of Melbourne Department of Paediatrics, which are based onsite at the hospital.

The hospital is surrounded by the parkland of Royal Park, with views of trees and much natural light.

 

The hospital was established in 1870 and moved to the corner of Flemington Road and Gatehouse Street in Parkville in 1963.

 

The Royal Children's Hospital was founded by Doctors John Singleton and William Smith, in response to their serious concerns about infant mortality in the fledgling city of Melbourne. The original "Free Hospital for Sick Children" was set up in a small house at 39 Stephen Street (now 49 Exhibition Street) and treated more than 1,000 children in its first year of operation.

In 2005, the Victoria State Government announced plans to build a brand new 340 bed home for RCH adjacent to the existing site. The winning bid of the redevelopment was led by Babcock & Brown with architects Billard Leece Partnership and Bates Smart Architects. HKS Inc. Architects of Dallas, Texas provided Pediatric Design and Planning Services and consulting engineers Norman Disney & Young. Work commenced on the site in late 2007, and was completed in late 2011, opened by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II on her Royal Tour. Patients were moved into the new hospital in November 2011. The project won the 2012 Melbourne Prize and the Victorian Architecture Medal.

After the move to new facility, demolition of the old site was completed by December 2012. Much of the old site was turned back into parkland, creating a new gateway to Royal Park. Landscaping of the park was complete by 2015.

The Good Friday Appeal is held annually to raise money for the hospital. It has been broadcast on the Seven TV network for 52 years. The goal of the Appeal is to ensure that children with life-threatening illnesses receive the best possible medical and clinical care.

The 2009 Appeal raised $13,862,734. The 2010 Appeal raised $14,462,000. The 2011 Appeal raised $15,156,000. The 2012 Appeal raised $15,820,640. The 2013 appeal raised $16,405,534.65. The 2016 Appeal, raised $17,445,624. The 2017 Appeal, raised $17,605,662.

A new record was set in 2018, with the appeal raising $18,043,251.

The RCH Centre for Adolescent Health, Gender Service provides a multidisciplinary approach to the assessment, care and treatment of gender dysphoria for children aged 3 to 17 years. In 2003 it received 1 referral, increasing to 7 referrals in 2007. In 2015 it was expected that there would be more than 150 referrals, with a one-year waiting list. The Andrews government said it will spend an extra $6 million over four years to reduce waiting times. During 2016 the gender clinic is expecting to receive at least 250 referrals.

Elizabeth Turner medal

Each year since 2002, the Elizabeth Turner Medal has been awarded to senior medical or dental practitioners at the RCH who have consistently shown excellence in clinical care over an extended period of time. It is the highest honour of peer recognition at the hospital.

The medal was named in honour of Elizabeth Kathleen Turner AO (1914-1999) who was a Peadiatrician at the hospital from 1942 until 1980, and was the Medical Superintendent from 1943 until 1946. She was the first doctor in Australia to administer penicillin. The medal was named in her honour to acknowledge her devotion to the care of her patients.

Past recipients of the award include plastic surgeon Tony Holmes in 2004, and neurosurgeon Wirginia Maixner in 2023.

Barnes-Hutson medal

On the 150th anniversary of the hospital the medical staff association established the Barnes-Hutson medal to acknowledge outstanding contributions to the fabric of the hospital.

The medal is named in honour of Graeme Barnes (Gastroenterology) and John Hutson (General Surgery and Urology) in acknowledgment of their all-round contribution to clinical practice, research, education, and mentorship.

The inaugural award was presented to Gastroenterologist Winita Hardikar in 2021, Community paediatrician Jill Sewell received the award in 2022, and Gastroenterologist Prof Julie Bines received the award in 2023.

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