St George Hospital
South East Sydney Local Health District
Geography
LocationKogarah, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Coordinates33°58′02″S 151°08′02″E / 33.9672°S 151.1339°E / -33.9672; 151.1339
Organisation
Care systemPublic Medicare (AU)
TypeDistrict General, Teaching
Affiliated universityUniversity of New South Wales
Services
Emergency departmentYes
Bedsapprox 547
Helipads
Helipad(ICAO: YXSG)
Number Length Surface
ft m
1 concrete
History
Opened1894
Links
WebsiteSt George Hospital
ListsHospitals in Australia

The St George Hospital and Community Health Service is a district general hospital, It is tertiary referral hospital is located in Kogarah, a southern suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It is part of the South East Sydney Local Health District and is an accredited principal teaching Hospital of the University of New South Wales.

Overview

An aerial view of the hospital complex

As a major tertiary and teaching hospital, St George accepts patients from other parts of Sydney, NSW and beyond. It primarily serves about 250,000 residents of southern Sydney, in the St George area bounded by Botany Bay, Cooks River in the north, Georges River in the south and Salt Pan Creek in the west. Approximately 35% of the St George area's residents are from a non-English speaking background. The hospital is also the nearest provider of specialist medical services for around 200,000 residents of the Sutherland Shire.

The hospital has a designated medical trauma service and is the Medical Retrieval Service Coordination Centre for NSW. The hospital's departments include anaesthesia, critical care, surgery, cancer care, medicine, women's and children's health, mental health, community health and medical imaging.[1]

In the 2002-2003 financial year there were more than 45,000 admissions (including day-only), and more than 723,000 outpatient treatments were administered. The hospital has approximately 600 beds and more than 2500 staff (full-time equivalents) and is one of the largest in Sydney.[2]

History

The original cottage
The ward block built in the early 1970s

On 25 July 1891, a public meeting was convened in Rockdale by Alderman D. B. Carruthers, the mayor of Rockdale, to deliberate the establishment of a cottage hospital in St George, Sydney.[3] Hon J. H. Carruthers, Minister for Lands, outlined the necessity for the hospital and discussed fundraising efforts, including a day of racing at Moorefield Racecourse.[3] A committee was formed, comprising members from Rockdale, Kogarah, and Hurstville, with a women's committee also established.[3] The meeting addressed various aspects of the hospital's planning, including site selection.[3] Another meeting took place on 8 August 1891 in Hurstville, focusing on concerns related to necessity and taxation.[4] In response, Hon. J. H. Carruthers presented a funding plan based on charitable efforts, highlighting the statistics of patients from the area admitted to other hospitals and emphasising the potential benefits of a local facility.[4] The meeting concluded that a cottage hospital should be established in St George.[4] Subsequently, committees initiated their project efforts, and the site selection process was entrusted to representatives from the municipalities and medical professionals, with Dr Manning acting as an arbitrator. Each committee contributed £50 towards the funding of the project.[4]

St George Hospital began operation in November 1894, as a cottage hospital. It became a district hospital in 1924 and began performing surgery. By 1934, it was equivalent to any other district hospital in metropolitan Sydney. In 1964, it became a teaching hospital with specialised departments and became known as The St George Hospital. In the late 1980s it underwent a A$200 million redevelopment into a tertiary teaching hospital, providing the people of southern Sydney with specialist healthcare services closer to home. In 1998, there was an unsuccessful attempt by the NSW government to transfer St Vincents Hospital from its site in Darlinghurst to the St George Hospital site. The plan was abandoned due to community opposition to the loss of the St George name, and uncertainties about the future of the obstetrics and gynaecology service under the St Vincents Catholic Church- run administration. In 2014 the hospital celebrated its 120th birthday.[5]

St George Hospital School

The Department of Education and Training operates a school within the hospital, known as St George Hospital School. The school is operated as part of the Botany Bay Network of schools within the Sydney Region.[6]

In terms of facilities, the school uses a single classroom to deliver teaching,[7] but less formal teaching does occur elsewhere according to the needs of the students.

RPA Hospital School provides for the educational needs of school-age children and teenagers while they are short term or long term patients at the hospital. In 2009, there were 703 students enrolled in the school at various times during the year, with the majority of those students staying for less than 3 days. All grades are provided for, from Kindergarten to Year 12, according to the syllabi produced by the Board of Studies. Students undertake exams, just as they would at their home schools, including the NAPLAN testing, School Certificate and Higher School Certificate. The school works closely with the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service at the hospital in supporting the transition of students to the school and to the hospital.[8]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "St George Hospital's new Acute Services Building fast-tracked for early completion". ESCO Industries. Retrieved 11 January 2018.
  2. ↑ About St George NSW Health Department
  3. 1 2 3 4 "COTTAGE HOSPITAL FOR THE DISTRICT OF ST GEORGE". The Sydney Morning Herald. 25 July 1891. Retrieved 22 October 2023.
  4. 1 2 3 4 "COTTAGE HOSPITAL FOR THE DISTRICT OF ST. GEORGE". The Sydney Morning Herald. 8 August 1891. Retrieved 22 October 2023.
  5. ↑ St George Hospital's 120th birthday stirs memories St George Leader 14 November 2014
  6. ↑ Sydney Region Botany Bay Network New South Wales Education Department
  7. ↑ St George Hospital School St George Hospital
  8. ↑ St George Mental Health Service South Eastern Sydney Local Health District
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