The Royal Victorian Eye and Ear Hospital (the Eye and Ear) is a specialist public teaching hospital in

East Melbourne East Melbourne is an inner-city suburb in Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia, east of Melbourne's Melbourne central business district, Central Business District, located within the City of Melbourne Local government areas of ...

, Australia. It is the only hospital in Australia which specialises in both

ophthalmology Ophthalmology ( ) is a surgical subspecialty within medicine that deals with the diagnosis and treatment of eye disorders. An ophthalmologist is a physician who undergoes subspecialty training in medical and surgical eye care. Following a medic ...

and

otolaryngology Otorhinolaryngology ( , abbreviated ORL and also known as otolaryngology, otolaryngology–head and neck surgery (ORL–H&N or OHNS), or ear, nose, and throat (ENT)) is a surgical subspeciality within medicine that deals with the surgical a ...

History

The hospital was established as the Eye and Ear Infirmary in 1863, by Andrew Sexton Gray, an Irish medical practitioner who had emigrated to

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

. Dr Gray founded the infirmary due to the prevalence of eye and ear diseases at the time, particularly amongst miners on the Victorian gold fields, and also due to poor standards of sanitation and hygiene.Dr Andrew Sexton Gray – Founder 1863–1907
Royal Victorian Eye and Ear Hospital, 2013. In 1870, Gray's infirmary merged with Ophthalmic and Orthopaedic Institution operated by Aubrey Bowen and Ewin Jones, and in 1878 the hospital was granted valuable land by the Victorian government in what was called Tank Reserve in East Melbourne.Royal Victorian Eye & Ear Hospital, Aubrey Bowen Wing, 126 - 142 Victoria Pde, East Melbourne, VIC, Australia
Australian Heritage Database, Department of the Environment. Its new building was completed in 1883. In 1978, the Eye and Ear was the site of a pioneering operation to install the world's first multi-channel

cochlear implant A cochlear implant (CI) is a surgically implanted neuroprosthesis that provides a person who has moderate-to-profound sensorineural hearing loss with sound perception. With the help of therapy, cochlear implants may allow for improved speech unde ...

(Bionic Ear), developed by Graeme Clark.Australian Inventor Of The 'Bionic Ear' Conducts The World's First Cochlear Implant Operation
''80 Days That Changed Our Lives'', ABC. Professor Clark subsequently established the Bionic Ear Institute at the hospital, and one of the laneways through the hospital site was named Bionic Ear Lane to commemorate the research and development by Clark and his team.What's in a Name? The lanes of East Melbourne
East Melbourne Historical Society.

Statistics

, the RVEEH has 30 inpatient beds and a 10-bed Medihotel. In one year, the hospital treats about 180,000 outpatients, admits about 13,000 inpatients, and performs around 14,000 surgeries. The Emergency Department operates 24 hours a day, and handles around 47,000 presentations a year of which approximately 80 per cent are ophthalmology (eye) cases.Senior Medical Officer in Ophthalmology 2013 – Information Package
Mercury Hospital Recruitment, 2013.

Geography and redevelopment

The hospital comprises three wings: the Aubrey Bowen Wing (built in 1896), the

Peter Howson Peter Howson OBE (born 27 March 1958) is a Scottish painter. He was a British official war artist in 1993 during the Bosnian War. Early life Peter Howson was born in London of Scottish parents and moved with his family to Prestwick, A ...

Wing (built in 1974) and the Smorgon Family Wing (commissioned in 1987). There is a tunnel underneath Victoria Parade which links the Eye and Ear to St Vincent's Hospital.The Royal Victorian Eye and Ear Hospital
Open House Melbourne, 2013. In November 2012, the Victorian Government announced that the hospital would undergo a redevelopment, due to be completed in 2018. In 2021 it began the implementation of a digitisation project designed to improve the way it manages clinic appointments with patient self check-in kiosks and digital display screens to communicate information and waiting times to patients.

References

External links

* {{Authority control Hospitals in Melbourne Teaching hospitals in Australia Hospitals established in 1863 1863 establishments in Australia Eye hospitals Organisations based in Australia with royal patronage Eye care in Australia East Melbourne, Victoria Buildings and structures in the City of Melbourne (LGA)