| Canberra Hospital | |
| ACT Health | |
|---|---|
| Geography | |
| Location | Yamba Drive, Woden Valley, Canberra, ACT, Australia |
| Organisation | |
| Care system | Public Medicare (AU) |
| Hospital type | Teaching |
| Affiliated university | Australian National University |
| Services | |
| Emergency department | Yes |
| Beds | 500 |
| History | |
| Founded | 1914 |
| Links | |
| Website | http://www.health.act.gov.au/c/health?a=da&did=10209377 |
| Lists | Hospitals in Australia |
The Canberra Hospital is a public hospital located in Garran, Canberra. It is a tertiary level centre with 500 beds and caters to a population of about 520,000. It was formed when the Woden Valley Hospital and the Royal Canberra Hospital were amalgamated in 1991, and was renamed the Canberra Hospital in 1996.[1]
It is the major teaching hospital for the recently established Australian National University Medical School. It is also a teaching hospital for the University of Canberra's School of Nursing. Furthermore, the hospital has strong links with the John Curtin School of Medical Research.
In May 1914 the Canberra Community Hospital, the first hospital for Canberra, was opened in Balmain Crescent, Acton with eight beds.[2] Tents were used to supplement the isolation ward. There were no obstetric facilities and obstetrics patients had to travel to the Queanbeyan hospital.[3]
In 1943 a new hospital was opened on the Acton Peninsula near the Australian National University.[2] Construction of the building was commenced in 1940. In 1942, the United States Army Medical Corps took over construction and commissioned it as an American military hospital. It was a military hospital for only five months. In February 1943, the hospital buildings were handed over to the Canberra Hospital Board for the development of what in time became the Royal Canberra Hospital on Acton Peninsula.[3][4]
Woden Valley hospital buildings were constructed between 1969 and 1973.[5]
In 1973 the Woden Valley hospital opened and the first patients were admitted.[3]
In 1979 the Canberra Community Hospital was renamed the Royal Canberra Hospital.[4][6]
Services were transferred to the Woden Hospital when the Royal Canberra Hospital closed on 27 November 1991.[2]
In 1996 Woden Valley Hospital was re-named The Canberra Hospital and the first IVF baby in Canberra Hospital was born, 26/12/96.[2]
On 13 July 1997 the superseded buildings on the Acton peninsular were demolished by implosion, killing a young girl hit by flying debris.[4]
In 2010, the second operating theatre capable of performing an MRI during brain surgery was commissioned.