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Description

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Royal Brisbane and Womens Hospital RBWH is a 986 bed general tertiary referral teaching hospital We provide services to patients throughout Queensland and are the largest tertiary hospital in the state RBWH fulfils a significant teaching and research role with links to Queenslands major tertiary institutions

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History

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History of the Royal Brisbane and Womens Hospital
The first public hospital in Brisbane the Moreton Bay Hospital was established on 12 January 1849 near the site of the present Supreme Court buildings in George Street It served a vast area comprising the districts of Moreton Darling Downs Wide Bay Burnett and Maranoa In its first year 94 patients were treated and the total expenditure for that year was 370 pounds

By 1856 other hospitals had been established away from Brisbane As a result the name of Moreton Bay Hospital was changed to the Brisbane Hospital

A new hospital was built on the RBWHs present site at Herston then known as the Quarries The patients were moved from the hospital in George Street to the new Brisbane Hospital on 8th January 1867 The first nurses graduated from the hospital in 1888 and in 1939 the University of Queensland Medical School was opened adjacent to the hospital Since that time the hospital has provided training for thousands of doctors nurses and allied health professionals The Royal Brisbane Hospital was so named in 1966 and has become the major teaching hospital for Queensland

The first womens hospital began in 1864 It was called the Queensland LyingIn Hospital and was located in Leichhardt Street Spring Hill In 1867 the hospital was renamed the Lady Bowen Hospital after the wife of Queenslands first governor

Towards the end of 1929 it was agreed to build a new maternity hospital on land adjacent to the Brisbane Hospital at Herston The then Minister for Health Ned Hanlon officially opened the new Womens Hospital in 1938

In 1966 Queen Elizabeth 2nd gave permission to use the prefix quotRoyalquot to the Brisbane Hospital and in 1967 the Queen also approved the use of the quotRoyalquot prefix for the Brisbane Womens Hospital Patrick R 1988
Following years of strategic planning and a multi million dollar redevelopment program The Royal Brisbane and Royal Womens Hospitals were amalgamated to become the Royal Brisbane and Womens Hospital in 2003 Initially there were two divisions within the Womens section the Womens Health Division and the Division of Neonatology In 2004 these were amalgamated to become the Womens and Newborn Services Service Line

Today the Royal Brisbane and Womens Hospital is a 986 bed tertiary referral teaching hospital with a number of specialities including medicine surgery orthopaedics psychiatry oncology trauma obstetrics gynaecology gynaeoncology urogynaecology neonatology and community based client oriented education services and womens health services The RBWH is the largest tertiary referral hospital in Queensland and provides services to patients from throughout the State New South Wales Northern Territory and from neighbouring countries in the South West Pacific The hospital fulfils a significant teaching and research role with links to Queenslands major tertiary institutions