| Royal Children's Hospital | |
| Royal Children's Hospital from the corner of Flemington Road and Gatehouse Street | |
| Geography | |
|---|---|
| Location | Melbourne, Victoria, Australia |
| Organisation | |
| Care system | Medicare |
| Hospital type | Specialist |
| Affiliated university | University of Melbourne, La Trobe University, and Murdoch Children's Research Institute |
| Services | |
| Beds | 250 |
| Speciality | Children's hospital |
| History | |
| Founded | 1870, 1963 present site |
| Links | |
| Website | http://www.rch.org.au |
| Lists | |
The Royal Children's Hospital (RCH) is a major children's hospital in Melbourne, Australia.
As the major paediatric hospital in Victoria, the Royal Children's Hospital and offers a full range of clinical services, tertiary care and health promotion and prevention programs for children and adolescents under 18 years.[1] It is a major teaching hospital with links to the University of Melbourne and La Trobe University, and the Murdoch Children's Research Institute, which is based onsite.
It overlooks the trees and lawns of Royal Park.
The hospital also has an acute psychiatric inpatient unit, called the Banksia Unit, for adolescents from 12 to 18 years of age. The Banksia Unit is located in Mavis Street,[2]Footscray, Victoria.
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The hospital was established in 1870 and moved to its present site in Parkville on the corner of Flemington Road and Gatehouse Street in 1963.
In 2005, the Victorian State Government announced plans to build a brand new 340-bed home for RCH adjacent to the current site.[3]
The winning bid of the redevelopment is led by Babcock & Brown with architects Billard Leece Partnership and Bates Smart Architects. HKS Inc. Architects of Dallas, Texas provided Pediatric Design and Planning Services and consulting engineers Norman Disney & Young. Work commenced on the site in late 2007, and is due to be completed in 2011. The current hospital will be demolished by 2014 after the transition to the new facility. After the move, much of the old site will be turned into a park, creating a new gateway to Royal Park.[4]
The Good Friday Appeal is held annually to raise money for the hospital. It has been broadcast on the Seven TV network for 52 years. The goal of the Appeal is to ensure that children with life threatening illnesses receive the best possible medical and clinical care.[5]
The 2009 Appeal raised $13,862,734,[6] the 2010 Appeal raised $14,462,000[7] and the 2011 Appeal raised a record $15,156,000.