Canberra Hospital is a major tertiary public hospital located in Garran,

Canberra Canberra ( ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The ci ...

Australian Capital Territory The Australian Capital Territory (commonly abbreviated as ACT), known as the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) until 1938, is a landlocked federal territory of Australia containing the national capital Canberra and some surrounding township#Aust ...

. It is the largest hospital in the region with 672 beds catering to a population of about 550,000. It was formed when the Woden Valley Hospital and the

Royal Canberra Hospital Royal Canberra Hospital was the first hospital in Canberra, the capital of Australia. It opened in 1914 (a year after the planned city was opened) on the Acton Peninsula, as the Canberra Community Hospital. It grew to become the major hospital in ...

were amalgamated in 1991, and was renamed Canberra Hospital in 1996. It is the main teaching hospital for the

Australian National University The Australian National University (ANU) is a public research university located in Canberra, the capital of Australia. Its main campus in Acton encompasses seven teaching and research colleges, in addition to several national academies an ...

Medical School. It is also a teaching hospital for the

University of Canberra The University of Canberra (UC) is a public research university with its main campus located in Bruce, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory. The campus is within walking distance of Westfield Belconnen, and from Canberra's Civic Centre. U ...

's School of Nursing. Furthermore, the hospital has strong links with the John Curtin School of Medical Research. The hospital is also a major regional centre for

Clinical Pastoral Education Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) is education to teach spiritual care to clergy and others. CPE is the primary method of training hospital and hospice chaplains and spiritual care providers in the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. C ...

, offering courses through the Canberra and Region Centre for Spiritual Care and Clinical Pastoral Education in association with the

Sydney College of Divinity The Sydney College of Divinity (SCD) is a consortium of Christian theological educational institutions and Bible colleges based in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The college is structured as a federation of member institutions, each of which ...

and

New South Wales College of Clinical Pastoral Education The New South Wales College of Clinical Pastoral Education is a consortium of Clinical Pastoral Education providers based in New South Wales. The College accredits supervisors, centres and courses in NSW and provides certificates for the successfu ...

History

In May 1914 the Canberra Community Hospital, the first hospital for Canberra, was opened in Balmain Crescent, Acton with eight beds. Tents were used to supplement the isolation ward. There were no obstetric facilities and obstetrics patients had to travel to the

Queanbeyan Queanbeyan ( ) is a city in the south-eastern region of New South Wales, Australia, located adjacent to the Australian Capital Territory in the Southern Tablelands region. Located on the Queanbeyan River, the city is the council seat of the ...

hospital. In 1943 a new hospital was opened on the Acton Peninsula. Construction of the building was commenced in 1940. In 1942, the

United States Army Medical Corps The Medical Corps (MC) of the U.S. Army is a staff corps (non-combat specialty branch) of the U.S. Army Medical Department (AMEDD) consisting of commissioned medical officers – physicians with either an M.D. or a D.O. degree, at least one ye ...

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

on Acton Peninsula. Woden Valley Hospital buildings were constructed between 1969 and 1973. In 1973 the Woden Valley Hospital opened and the first patients were admitted. In 1979 the Canberra Community Hospital was renamed the Royal Canberra Hospital. Services were transferred to the Woden Valley Hospital when the

closed on 27 November 1991. In 1996 Woden Valley Hospital was renamed Canberra Hospital and its first IVF baby was born on 26 December 1996. On 13 July 1997 the superseded buildings on the Acton peninsula were demolished by implosion, killing a 12-year-old girl named Katie Bender who was hit by flying debris. In 2010, the second operating theatre in Australia capable of performing intraoperative MRI scanning during surgery was completed.

Services and campus

Canberra Hospital provides a wide range of services across more than 25 buildings on its campus, including acute inpatient and day services, outpatient services, women's and children's services, paediatrics and pathology. A hospital campus map of the Canberra Hospital is available online. Free public parking is available in numerous locations across the hospital campus including a multi-storey car park to the south of the Canberra Region Cancer Centre between Bateson Road and Hospital Road.

Transport Canberra Transport Canberra & City Services (TCCS) is a directorate of the Government of the Australian Capital Territory of the Australian Capital Territory, responsible for managing roads, footpaths and cycle paths and managing public transport in Can ...

buses also serve Canberra Hospital from the Woden Bus Station, and interstate coach services are available to Queanbeyan and Yass.

References

{{Authority control Hospitals in the Australian Capital Territory Hospital buildings completed in 1943 Teaching hospitals in Australia Hospitals established in 1991 1914 establishments in Australia

History

Services and campus

See also

References