Royal Perth Hospital

Story

Royal Perth Hospital is a 450-bed teaching hospital located on the northeastern edge of the CBD of Perth, Western Australia.HistoryThe Hospital traces its history back to the first colonial hospital which was established in a tent on Garden Island, just off the coast of Western Australia, in 1829. In June 1830, the hospital tent was re-erected in Cathedral Avenue, Perth. From 1833 a more substantial colonial hospital operated for a short time from a rented room in a private house. Six years later, in December 1840, this was re-opened in a building formerly used as stables on the corner of St Georges Terrace and Irwin Street. The Hospital commenced operations on its present site on 14 July 1855 and was formally named the Colonial Hospital. In the years since, the Hospital has been known variously as the Perth Public Hospital, the Perth Hospital and finally, from 1946, as Royal Perth Hospital.FutureInitial plans in 2005 were to close down operations at RPH in response to opening of Fiona Stanley Hospital; however, the Western Australian government's South Metropolitan Services have changed plans since. The main campus on Wellington Street will retain its role as a major adult trauma centre and centre for complex surgeries. The Shenton Park campus (a tertiary rehabilitation centre) has closed down and rehabilitation services moved to Fiona Stanley Hospital.FacilitiesRoyal Perth Hospital is the largest hospital in WA, employing over 6000 people and seeing over 70 000 patients each year. Some of the services offered are imaging, trauma and neurosciences, a wide variety of surgical options, critical and emergency care, dermatology, internal medicine, haematology and many others besides.