The University Hospital Geelong, formerly the Geelong Hospital, is an Australian
public hospital
A public hospital, or government hospital, is a hospital which is government owned and is fully funded by the government and operates solely off the money that is collected from taxpayers to fund healthcare initiatives. In some countries, this typ ...
located in Ryrie Street,
Geelong, Victoria
Geelong ( ) (Wathawurrung: ''Djilang''/''Djalang'') is a port city in the southeastern Australian state of Victoria, located at the eastern end of Corio Bay (the smaller western portion of Port Phillip Bay) and the left bank of Barwon River, a ...
. The hospital is part of
Barwon Health, Victoria's largest regional health care provider, which has 21 sites. It is the largest hospital in regional Victoria and the only tertiary hospital outside of the Melbourne Metropolitan area. The site is bounded by Ryrie, Bellarine, Myers, and Swanston Streets.
History
Originally opened as the Geelong Infirmary and Benevolent Asylum
[ in 1852 on the Ryrie Street site, it treated 344 inpatients in its first year. By 1862 the number of patients treated had increased to 2450. By the 1890s the buildings were deeded obsolete, with proposals being made for the hospital's relocation to ]Eastern Park
Eastern Park was a baseball park in the Brownsville neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York in the 1890s. It was bounded by Eastern Parkway—later renamed Pitkin Avenue when Eastern Parkway was diverted—to the north (home plate); the Long I ...
. This was blocked by the city council
A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, rural counc ...
who objected to the loss of parkland.[The University of Melbourne, ''History of Medicine, Dentistry & Health Sciences at Melbourne - Geelong Hospital, Barwon Health Clinical School'', unimelb.edu.au]
http://www.chs.unimelb.edu.au/programs/jnmhu/umfm/biogs/FM00330b.htm
Accessed via Windows Internet Explorer 14 January 2007
By 1917 a public meeting was held calling for a new hospital, to be dedicated to the memory of Lord Kitchener. A building fund was set up, and work started in October 1922. The Geelong and District Kitchener Memorial Hospital as it was known opened on 13 March 1924.[ The original building consisted of a central administration block which remained until 2007, with wards branching off to each side. From 1927 the ]Gala Day
Gala Day is a one-day festival held in many towns over the world.
One of the biggest is held in the city of Geelong, Victoria, Australia. The festival raises money for the Geelong Hospital, and was known for the street parade through central ...
festival in Geelong helped raise money for the hospital.
Further additions to the buildings included the boiler house on Swanston Street, the Kardinia Ward along Bellerine Street in the 1920s, and the Baxter House maternity hospital in 1954 (now the Geelong Private Hospital).
The 1960s saw the Birdsey Wing built behind the existing buildings, with the 1980s seeing the demolition of the old western wards and their replacement with the Heath Wing containing the new emergency department and main entrance. The Dax House psychiatric ward was also built at this time. The Andrew Love cancer centre was built in the early 1990s on the site of the older eastern wards.
The hospital became officially known as Geelong Hospital in 1966.[
]
Recent history
The Baxter House maternity hospital
A maternity hospital specializes in caring for women during pregnancy and childbirth. It also provides care for newborn infants, and may act as a centre for clinical training in midwifery and obstetrics. Formerly known as lying-in hospitals, most o ...
was closed in the late 1990s, being relocated into a redeveloped Dax House and renamed the Bellerine Centre. The psychiatric wards were moved into the former Swanston Street Primary School which had closed some years earlier. The Geelong Private Hospital took over the empty Baxter House.
The Andrew Love cancer centre was redeveloped during 2006, and a new main entrance was provided to the hospital from Bellerine Street. A new administration office and emergency ward has been constructed on the Ryrie Street side of the hospital.
The hospital was renamed University Geelong Hospital in 2014 to signify Barwon Health's partnership as a teaching facility with Deakin University
Deakin University is a public university in Victoria, Australia. Founded in 1974, the university was named after Alfred Deakin, the second Prime Minister of Australia.
Its main campuses are in Melbourne's Burwood suburb, Geelong Waurn Ponds, ...
.
In 2015, a new wing was opened atop the existing emergency and administration building to allow for further capacity, especially in orthopaedic and oncology services. A helipad has also been opened atop the new wing, allowing for quicker ambulance access to the hospital.
In the 2022 Victorian State Budget, $500m was allocated to build new operating theatres and expanded paediatric and maternity units at the hospital.
Services
As the only tertiary referral centre in regional Victoria, it provides service covering nearly all specialities, with the exception of organ transplant and neurosurgery. It has a primary catchment area of over 350,000 people, which a catchment area of over 500,000 for some specialities. It has a speciality catchment area from Werribee to the South Australia border.
Speciality Units
Medical Units (Inpatient)
* General Medical
* Respiratory/Thoracic
* Infectious Disease
* Neurology/Stroke unit
* Endocinology/Diabetes
* Anaesthetology/Pain Management
* Palliative care
* Cardiology (including a coronary care unit, and cardiac cath labs)
* Intensive Care
* Emergency Department
* Gastroenterology
* Nephrology (Renal)
* Oncology (medical oncology, radiation oncology, and clinical haematology)
* Maternity Services
* Paediatric
* Gynaecology
* Radiology/Nuclear medicine (including interventional radiology)
* Rheumatology
* Dermatology
Surgical Units
* General (including Upper Gastrointestinal, and colorectal)
* Urology
* Vascular
* Plastics/Reconstructive
* Maxillofacial & Oral
* Otolaryngology (Ear, Nose, Throat, Head and Neck)
* Ophthalmology
* Orthopaedic
* Cardiothoracic
* Neurosurgery (Outpatients Only)
Acute Psychiatric Unit
Facts
*Has 406 acute hospital beds. Barwon Health has a total 1016 beds.
*Patient stays resulted in over 167,000 Bed days in 2014-2015
*Emergency Department sees over 62,000 patients a year
*Chairs in Medicine
Medicine is the science and practice of caring for a patient, managing the diagnosis, prognosis, prevention, treatment, palliation of their injury or disease, and promoting their health. Medicine encompasses a variety of health care pract ...
, Surgery
Surgery ''cheirourgikē'' (composed of χείρ, "hand", and ἔργον, "work"), via la, chirurgiae, meaning "hand work". is a medical specialty that uses operative manual and instrumental techniques on a person to investigate or treat a pat ...
and Psychiatry
Psychiatry is the medical specialty devoted to the diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of mental disorders. These include various maladaptations related to mood, behaviour, cognition, and perceptions. See glossary of psychiatry.
Initial psych ...
with the University of Melbourne
The University of Melbourne is a public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in Victoria. Its main campus is located in Parkville, an inner suburb nor ...
.
*Chairs in Medicine
Medicine is the science and practice of caring for a patient, managing the diagnosis, prognosis, prevention, treatment, palliation of their injury or disease, and promoting their health. Medicine encompasses a variety of health care pract ...
and Nursing
Nursing is a profession within the health care sector focused on the care of individuals, families, and communities so they may attain, maintain, or recover optimal health and quality of life. Nurses may be differentiated from other health ...
with Deakin University
Deakin University is a public university in Victoria, Australia. Founded in 1974, the university was named after Alfred Deakin, the second Prime Minister of Australia.
Its main campuses are in Melbourne's Burwood suburb, Geelong Waurn Ponds, ...
*Associated with the Gordon Institute of TAFE
The Gordon Institute of TAFE is the Technical and Further Education institute predominantly servicing the wider Geelong area. The Gordon opened in 1887 and celebrated 130 years of providing education in 2017.
The Gordon provides education ...
Division 2 nursing students.
References
{{Authority control
Hospital
A hospital is a health care institution providing patient treatment with specialized health science and auxiliary healthcare staff and medical equipment. The best-known type of hospital is the general hospital, which typically has an emerge ...
Hospitals in Victoria (Australia)
Hospital buildings completed in 1924
Hospital buildings completed in 1954
University of Melbourne
Hospitals established in 1852
1852 establishments in Australia