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The Royal Children's Hospital (RCH), colloquially referred to as the Royal Children's, is a major
children's hospital A children's hospital (CH) is a hospital that offers its services exclusively to infants, children, adolescents, and young adults from birth up to until age 18, and through age 21 and older in the United States. In certain special cases, the ...
in Parkville, a suburb of
Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...
,
Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Queen Victoria (1819–1901), Queen of the United Kingdom and Empress of India * Victoria (state), a state of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, a provincial capital * Victoria, Seychelles, the capi ...
,
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
. Regarded as one of the great
Children's hospital A children's hospital (CH) is a hospital that offers its services exclusively to infants, children, adolescents, and young adults from birth up to until age 18, and through age 21 and older in the United States. In certain special cases, the ...
s 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 Tasmania (; palawa kani: ''Lutruwita'') is an island States and territories of Australia, state of Australia. It is located to the south of the Mainland Australia, Australian mainland, and is separated from it by the Bass Strait. The sta ...
, as well as southern
New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...
and parts of
South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories by area, which in ...
. Patients from countries with a Reciprocal Health Agreement with
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
may be treated at the hospital, with seldom cases of overseas children being treated at the hospital. As a major specialist
paediatric Pediatrics (American English) also spelled paediatrics (British English), is the branch of medicine Medicine is the science and Praxis (process), practice of caring for patients, managing the Medical diagnosis, diagnosis, prognosis, Prev ...
hospital in
Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Queen Victoria (1819–1901), Queen of the United Kingdom and Empress of India * Victoria (state), a state of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, a provincial capital * Victoria, Seychelles, the capi ...
, 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.


History


Establishment and early years

The hospital was established in 1870, founded by doctors John Singleton and
William Smith William, Willie, Will, Bill, or Billy Smith may refer to: Academics * William Smith (Master of Clare College, Cambridge) (1556–1615), English academic * William Smith (antiquary) (c. 1653–1735), English antiquary and historian of University C ...
, 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. Unusually for the time, the hospital's committee of management was dominated by women from the outset. Frances Perry was elected as the inaugural president of the committee of management, although she was unsuccessful in imposing a Protestant religious ethos on the hospital. Artist Elizabeth Testar was another prominent member of the first committee. In its earliest years, the hospital relied extensively on charitable donations with little government support available. The management committee influenced patient admissions, often turning away children from wealthier families who they believed could afford private care.


Carlton: 1876–1963

In 1876, the hospital purchased a large mansion in Carlton previously owned by
Redmond Barry Sir Redmond Barry (7 June 181323 November 1880), was an Irish-born judge in the Australian colony of Victoria. A major figure in the early civic life of Melbourne, Barry was instrumental in founding several key institutions in the city, in ...
for £10,000 (). The hospital's premises at Carlton continued to expand rapidly until the 1920s, when the need for a larger campus and purpose-built hospital became apparent. William Snowball was an influential paediatrician at the hospital from 1878 until his death in 1902, working to "improve accommodation and hygiene conditions for children in medical care, training structures for nursing staff, and research into diseases afflicting his patients". Sarah Anne Bishop served as the hospital's nursing matron around the same time period, overseeing a tenfold increase in the number of nursing staff, improvements for staff and patients, and the establishment of the hospital's nursing training school. In 1898,
Ethel Cowan Ethel Mary Vaughan Eaves (née Cowan) (born 1868 – died 1943) was an Australian medical doctor who in 1898 was the first female doctor at the Royal Children's Hospital. Cowan was described in a 20 November 1897 article in the Kyneton Observer ...
became the first woman appointed as a resident doctor at the hospital. The RCH Auxiliary movement was established by Mary Guthrie in 1922 to coordinate volunteering and fundraising efforts at the hospital.
Ella Latham Eleanor Mary Latham CBE (; 10 October 1878 – 26 March 1964) was an Australian charity worker and hospital administrator. She served as president of the Royal Children's Hospital in Melbourne from 1933 to 1954. Early life Latham was born on 10 ...
, former president of a suburban auxiliary, served as president of the RCH committee of management from 1933 to 1954. In conjunction with medical director
Vernon Collins Vernon may refer to: Places Australia *Vernon County, New South Wales Canada * Vernon, British Columbia, a city * Vernon, Ontario France * Vernon, Ardèche *Vernon, Eure United States * Vernon, Alabama * Vernon, Arizona * Vernon, Californ ...
and lady superintendent
Lucy de Neeve Lucy is an English feminine given name derived from the Latin masculine given name Lucius with the meaning ''as of light'' (''born at dawn or daylight'', maybe also ''shiny'', or ''of light complexion''). Alternative spellings are Luci, Luce, ...
, she oversaw the transition of the hospital "from a charity hospital to an institution that provided medical services of the highest quality, education and training facilities for staff, a research organization in both curative and preventive medicine, and a link with the university".


Move to Parkville and further expansion: 1963–present

The hospital moved to the corner of
Flemington Road Flemington Road is a major thoroughfare in the inner suburbs of North Melbourne and Parkville in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It runs for 2 km in a northwest–southeast direction, from the southern end of Mount Alexander Road, Flemington, ...
and Gatehouse Street in Parkville in 1963. In 2005, the
Victoria State Government The Victoria State Government, also referred to as the Victorian Government, is the executive government of the Australian state of Victoria. As a parliamentary constitutional monarchy, the State Government was first formed in 1851 when Vic ...
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 Babcock & Brown LP (B&B) was a global investment and advisory firm, established in 1977, based in Sydney, Australia, that went into liquidation in 2009. Babcock & Brown Securities LLC is an active investment banking firm focused on equipment an ...
with architects
Billard Leece Billard may refer to: * Billard (surname), a list of people with the surname * French for the word ''Billiard''; see Billiard * Établissements Billard, a French railway rolling stock construction company * Philip Billard Municipal Airport, ai ...
Partnership and
Bates Smart Bates Smart is an architectural firm with studios in Melbourne and Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1853 by Joseph Reed, it is one of Australia's oldest architectural firms. Over the decades, the firm's practices involving architecture, interior ...
Architects. HKS Inc. Architects of Dallas, Texas provided Paediatric Design and Planning Services and consulting engineers
Norman Disney & Young Tetra Tech, Inc. is an American consulting and engineering services firm based in Pasadena, California. The company provides consulting, engineering, program management, and construction management services in the areas of water, environment, inf ...
. Work commenced on the site in late 2007, and was completed in late 2011, opened by
Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She had been queen regnant of 32 sovere ...
on her Royal Tour. Patients were moved into the new hospital in November 2011. The project won the 2012
Melbourne Prize The Dimity Reed Melbourne Prize is an Australian architectural award. It is awarded annually at the Victorian Architecture Awards by a jury appointed by the Victoria (state), Victoria Chapter of the Australian Institute of Architects to archite ...
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.


Good Friday Appeal

The
Good Friday Appeal The Good Friday Appeal is an annual fundraising activity on behalf of the Royal Children's Hospital, in Melbourne, Australia. The event occurs on Good Friday every year. In 2023, the appeal raised over $23 million, setting a new record. More ...
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.


Centre for Adolescent Health, Gender Service

The RCH Centre for Adolescent Health, Gender Service provides a multidisciplinary approach to the assessment, care and treatment of
gender dysphoria Gender dysphoria (GD) is the distress a person experiences due to inconsistency between their gender identitytheir personal sense of their own genderand their sex assigned at birth. The term replaced the previous diagnostic label of gender i ...
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 Andrews may refer to: Places Australia *Andrews, Queensland *Andrews, South Australia United States *Andrews, Florida (disambiguation), various places *Andrews, Indiana *Andrews, Nebraska *Andrews, North Carolina *Andrews, Oregon *Andrews, South ...
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. In April 2025, the Royal Children’s Hospital’s Gender Service came under national scrutiny during a high-profile decision of the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia in Re: Devin. The Court identified the hospital’s former Director of Adolescent Medicine, Dr Michelle Telfer, as the previously anonymous “Professor L,” whose expert evidence was heavily criticised for ideological bias, lack of scientific neutrality, and failure to conduct a comprehensive psychosocial assessment of a biologically male child at the centre of the case. Justice Strum found that the Gender Service adhered rigidly to a gender-affirming treatment model, dismissing broader clinical concerns and showing insufficient caution in light of emerging international evidence. The Court cited the UK’s Cass Review and ruled that the child’s welfare was best served by avoiding medicalised interventions such as puberty blockers, directly rejecting the approach advocated by clinicians at the hospital. The ruling triggered renewed public and professional debate regarding paediatric gender medicine in Australia, particularly the role of the Royal Children’s Hospital in shaping national treatment protocols. It also raised concerns about the influence of Victoria’s Change or Suppression (Conversion) Practices Prohibition Act 2021 on clinical decision-making, with testimony suggesting that clinicians felt unable to explore non-affirming treatment pathways.


RCH awards


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 Elizabeth Kathleen Turner (19 August 1914 – 26 December 1999) was a physician from Australia, who was the first doctor in Australia to administer penicillin. She held the position of Medical Superintendent of the (Royal) Children's Hospita ...
(1914-1999) who was a Paediatrician at the hospital from 1942 until 1980, and was the
Medical Superintendent A chief physician, also called a head physician, physician in chief, senior consultant, or chief of medicine, is a physician in a senior management position at a hospital or other institution. In many institutions, it is the title of the most sen ...
from 1943 until 1946. She was the first doctor in Australia to administer
penicillin Penicillins (P, PCN or PEN) are a group of beta-lactam antibiotic, β-lactam antibiotics originally obtained from ''Penicillium'' Mold (fungus), moulds, principally ''Penicillium chrysogenum, P. chrysogenum'' and ''Penicillium rubens, P. ru ...
. 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 Wirginia June Maixner (born 1963) is an Australian neurosurgeon and the director of neurosurgery at the Royal Children's Hospital in Melbourne, Australia. She is known for having performed the first auditory brainstem implant on a child in Austr ...
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.


Arms


See also

*
List of hospitals in Australia This is a list of hospitals in Australia. Australian Capital Territory New South Wales Public * Albury Wodonga Health (Albury Campus) – Albury * Armidale Hospital – Armidale. * Auburn Hospital – Auburn * Ballina Hospital – Ba ...
*
Healthcare in Australia Health care in Australia operates under a shared public-private model underpinned by the Medicare system, the national single-payer funding model. State and territory governments operate public health facilities where eligible patients re ...


References


External links

* {{Authority control Organisations based in Australia with royal patronage Children's hospitals in Australia Teaching hospitals in Australia Hospitals in Melbourne Hospitals established in 1870 1870 establishments in Australia Hospital buildings completed in 2011 Buildings and structures in the City of Melbourne (LGA)