The Royal North Shore Hospital (RNSH) is a major public teaching hospital in Sydney, Australia, located in St Leonards. It serves as a teaching hospital for Sydney Medical School at the University of Sydney, University of Technology and Australian Catholic University and has over 600 beds.
RNSH is the principal tertiary referral hospital for the Northern Sydney Local Health District. It is also a major Trauma Centre which provides specialised services in the areas of severe burns, neonatal intensive care, spinal cord injury and interventional radiology. The Kolling Institute of Medical Research is a health and medical research centre with a focus on research training. Its primary referral area accommodates 5.7% of the Australian population or 17% of the NSW population.
RNSH was ranked as the third best hospital in Australia, based on the Newsweek 2023 World's Best Hospitals list.
History
Foundation
The RNSH began as a cottage hospital located in Willoughby Road, Crows Nest. The foundation stone was laid by Sir Henry Parkes, 18 June 1887. The hospital was opened with accommodation for fourteen patients, with the requisite office and rooms for the medical and nursing staff. Medical staff numbered four honorary doctors and nursing staff numbered five. The site of the original hospital was bounded by Willoughby Road, Albany and Holterman Streets and Zig Zag Lane. The old site is now a busy part of the commercial centre of Crows Nest. In 1902, it opened on its current site at St Leonards, with 48 beds available for patients. New departments and wards were added over the next fifty years.
Between 1935 and 1940, polio treatment pioneer Sister Kenny travelled extensively throughout Australia helping to set up clinics. In the mid-thirties, she set up one of her pioneering clinics at RNSH. In 1940, the New South Wales government sent Kenny to America to present her clinical method for treating polio victims to American doctors. Doctors in Minnesota were with her work and convinced her to stay. Her treatments, which revolutionised the care of polio, caused as much controversy in the United States, as they had in Australia.
Royal North Shore became a teaching hospital of the University of Sydney in 1947.
Minnie May Gates MBE served on the hospital's board throughout the 1940s and 1950s (as her father and grandfather had done). She campaigned to improve the hospital's child care. She stood down in 1960, the year that the Minnie Gates Playground was opened in the grounds.
Redevelopment
In 2008, new facilities were procured under a Public Private Partnerships (PPP) contract. The selected bidder, Infra Shore, includes ABN AMRO, construction company Thiess and service providers Thiess Services, ISS Facility Services and Wilson Parking. The works were carried out by Thiess and completed in 2011.
Current services
Royal North Shore Hospital (RNSH) is a major teaching hospital located in the Northern Sydney Local Health District. There are currently 5,000 staff working at RNSH. It provides local health services to five local government areas north of Sydney Harbour – Lane Cove, Mosman, North Sydney and Willoughby and Ryde — and caters for more than 1,110,600 people, which equates to 1 out of every 20 Australians, and 1 in 5 people living in NSW population.
RNSH has statewide responsibilities in the provision of healthcare. It is one-of-seven major trauma centres in NSW and is the only trauma centre capable of providing care for major burns, spinal injuries, and serious injuries during pregnancy. The RNSH emergency and trauma services are complemented by comprehensive intensive care and diagnostic clinical support services. RNSH is also a major referral and tertiary hospital for the area extending north of Sydney Harbour, up to the southern shore of Lake Macquarie, and west to Wiseman's Ferry.
As a major teaching hospital, RNSH has acted as an education facility for University of Sydney undergraduate medical students for more than 60 years and acts as the main headquarters for the program's Northern Clinical School. The hospital's teaching program involves students of allied health and nursing students from University of Technology, Sydney. RNSH also provides facilities and support for postgraduate students, scientists and clinicians undertaking research programs in a variety of fields.
The RNSH campus comprises the Acute Services Building (opened in 2012), the Douglas Building and The Clinical Services Building (opened in December 2014). The overall area of the RNSH grounds is approximately 13 hectares, and 11.6 hectares in functional area. It is commonly known as the Royal North Shore Hospital Campus.