Greenslopes Private Hospital

Description

When it comes to caring for health patients and their families can expect the best at Greenslopes Private Hospital
As Australias largest private hospital we are proud to offer our patients one of the most personal and progressive health care services in the country incorporating 24 hour emergency care services stateoftheart cardiac services and some of the most comprehensive urological services in Queensland
With some of Australias finest medical practitioners stateoftheart equipment and friendly staff at Greenslopes Private we follow a comprehensive approach to diagnosis treatment and ongoing healthcare management
In 1999 Greenslopes was voted Australias best private hospital in the Australian Private Hospitals Association Hospital Quality of Excellence Award
Fully accredited by the Australian Council on Health Care Standards Greenslopes Private Hospital complies with worldclass hospital standards and has developed a framework for continually improving the quality of care and services provided to patients
Greenslopes Private Hospital has enjoyed a special relationship with the Queensland veteran community since it opened as a military hospital in 1942 By the end of World War II it was the largest Army hospital in Queensland After the war in 1947 the Commonwealth Repatriation Commission took control of the Hospital to provide care for veterans and war widows It remained a Repatriation Hospital until its sale in early 1995 to Ramsay Health Care

History

Greenslopes Private Hospital History
quotThe Bunkerquot Museum
A historical museum for Greenslopes Private Hospital has been established in one of the former and still existing bunkers of the hospital There were originally three bunkers located at Greenslopes Hospital during the war with only one still in existence

The story of Greenslopes Hospital is a slice of Australian national history since it was opened in 1942 many experiences and events have occurred at the hospital

The Bunker displays many old photos dating back to pre opening in 1942 and newspaper clippings from the hospitals past Visitors to the bunker can enjoy the story of the hospitals 60 year history through the audiovisual presentation which is part of the display Endocrinologist and resident historian Dr Chris Strakosch has had a life long interest history and was integral in setting up the display and continuing to ensure new elements are added to keep it interesting

1939
THE NEED FOR MILITARY HOSPITALS

In October 1939 a month after war was declared military officials estimated that Australia would need 3000 additional hospital beds by early 1940 to care for war casualties Instead of acquiring existing properties and converting them to hospitals as had happened in World War One the Department of Defence planned to develop purposebuilt military hospitals one in each of the state capitals Disputes between Commonwealth government bureaucrats delayed decisive action on the new hospitals for almost a year

The Greenslopes site for Brisbanes military hospital bounded by Newdegate Nicholson Denman and Peach Streets at Greenslopes was first surveyed in the latter half of the 19th century Originally owned by businessman T B Stephens the 8hectare 20acre site had been used mainly for farming In 1919 just after World War One the War Services Homes Commission purchased the site intending to construct houses for returned servicemen Still vacant in 1940 this site was considered ideal for the construction of the proposed military hospital

1940
GREENSLOPES SITE IS CHOSEN
The decision to build at Greenslopes was announced in August 1940 The local Brisbane newspaper The Courier Mail described the site as commanding a fine view of the city It was readily accessible by trams that ran a few hundred metres away along Logan Road

Melbournebased architects Stephenson and Turner were appointed to draw up the master plan In Brisbane local architects Hall and Philips handled working drawings contract letting and daytoday management Hall and Philips had designed the iconic Brisbane City Hall and Tattersalls Club

A young surveyor Clem Jones later Lord Mayor of Brisbane was commissioned to survey the site in November 1940
The plan was to initially accommodate 200 patients and then progressively develop the complex to accommodate 800 patients

The decision to build at Greenslopes was announced in August 1940 The local Brisbane newspaper The Courier Mail described the site as commanding a fine view of the city It was readily accessible by trams that ran a few hundred metres away along Logan Road

Melbournebased architects Stephenson and Turner were appointed to draw up the master plan In Brisbane local architects Hall and Philips handled working drawings contract letting and daytoday management Hall and Philips had designed the iconic Brisbane City Hall and Tattersalls Club

A young surveyor Clem Jones later Lord Mayor of Brisbane was commissioned to survey the site in November 1940
The plan was to initially accommodate 200 patients and then progressively develop the complex to accommodate 800 patients

The decision to build at Greenslopes was announced in August 1940 The local Brisbane newspaper The Courier Mail described the site as commanding a fine view of the city It was readily accessible by trams that ran a few hundred metres away along Logan Road

Melbournebased architects Stephenson and Turner were appointed to draw up the master plan In Brisbane local architects Hall and Philips handled working drawings contract letting and daytoday management Hall and Philips had designed the iconic Brisbane City Hall and Tattersalls Club

A young surveyor Clem Jones later Lord Mayor of Brisbane was commissioned to survey the site in November 1940
The plan was to initially accommodate 200 patients and then progressively develop the complex to accommodate 800 patients


1941
CONSTRUCTION BEGINS

Site excavation at Greenslopes began in May 1941 Construction of three pavilionstyle brick ward blocks and the boiler house began in July

Each ward was to house 64 beds half either side of a central nursing station Wards were partitioned for groups of four beds The top half of each partition was glass to allow a clear view of all patients from the nursing station Each patient was to have a radio point a bed lamp and bedside table

In October 1941 a contract to build the administration block was awarded to Lawson Construction cost pound71896 However construction did not commence until early in 1945

112TH AUSTRALIAN GENERAL HOSPITAL UNIT FORMED

On Anzac Day 1941 the 112th Australian General Hospital unit 112 AGH assumed responsibility for treating all military personnel in the Brisbane area During construction at Greenslopes 112 AGH was accommodated at the Brisbane Exhibition Grounds and later moved into Yungaba at Kangaroo Point which had been an immigration hostel

1942
GREENSLOPES OPENS

On 2 February 1942 the first 35 patients were admitted to the Hospital and on 14 March the headquarters of the 112 AGH unit was relocated to Greenslopes By 9 April Kangaroo Point had been closed and the entire hospital unit was accommodated at Greenslopes Patients with tropical diseases such as malaria dengue fever and intestinal diseases often outnumbered the wounded

A newspaper report described the interiors of the three new wards as having Eacutecream walls and beds stained woodwork and pale green ceilings and floor coverings The hospital boasted all modern conveniences including mechanical dishwashers and electrically heated food trolleys According to one patient Home was never like this

The wards were given a distinctly Queensland character with 3metre 10feet wide verandas enclosed by triplehung windows

The hospitals staff complement was drawn from the Australian Army Medical Corps Australian Army Nursing Service and Voluntary Aid Detachments VADs were trained by the Red Cross and later became the Australian Army Medical Womens Service

The wards were built by H amp F Haven cost pound38600 The boiler house was built by W Greene cost pound7597 Separate contracts were let for buildings to accommodate staff

Following the bombing of Darwin the wisdom of locating a base hospital in Brisbane was now being questioned Plans to build three additional permanent wards Wards 4 5 and 6 were scrapped in favour of temporary wards that could be more quickly constructed and if necessary relocated Construction began in April 1942
Also built in 1942 were a temporary operating theatre patients mess occupational therapy building and a canteen

1943
GREENSLOPES EXPANDED CENTAUR TORPEDOED amp SUNK

In May 1943 the Australian Hospital Ship Centaur was torpedoed off the southern tip of Moreton Island To provide beds for severely burned survivors Greenslopes patients who were not bedridden were shifted onto canvas chairs Extra staff was rostered on duty The only nurse on the Centaur to survive the sinking was Sister Ellen Nell Savage She was taken to 112 AGH Greenslopes to recover She was later awarded the George Medal for her gallantry

Additions to Greenslopes in 1943 included three new timber pavilions Wards 7 8 amp 9 quarters for nurses and wardsmen an artificial limb factory and storage buildings

The first occupants of Ward 7 were wounded Japanese prisoners of war POWs A marquee was erected at the back of Ward 7 to accommodate other wounded enemy POWs

In October 1943 the hospital complex was officially renamed 112 Brisbane General Military Hospital

1944
THE CHAPEL amp RED CROSS FACILITY

The hospitals chapel was completed in 1944 It has a Catholic altar and confessional at one end and a Protestant altar at the other Apart from the imitationtile roof which replaced the original asbestos sheeting the chapel remains essentially unchanged

In May the Greenslopes hospital was registered as a training school with the Queensland Nurses and Masseurs Registration Board

Greenslopes was the only military hospital without a Red Cross patient recreation facility The War Services Homes Commission initially rejected the Red Crosss request for adjacent land But after the Queensland Premier intervened the Red Cross was allocated land to build a facility that included a hall library billiards room reading rooms handcraft store workroom and storeroom

1945
POWs RETURN

By February 1945 construction of the administration building had begun Three new permanent wards increased the hospitals capacity to 600 patients Other work included additions to the boiler house a new laundry block minor ancillary buildings and additional roads and services

Among the returning Australians were exPOWs who had survived atrocious conditions in slave labour camps including those on the Burma railway and in Japanese coal mines They were emaciated shadows of the healthy people who had left Australia a few years before

An army sergeant also a patient at Greenslopes recalls a despondent young exPOW telling him I must be in pretty bad nick My parents didnt know me They said Gday to me in the corridor and kept walking

Medical and surgical advances kept Greenslopes at the forefront of treatment methods Services were extended to include faciocranial and plastic surgery new amputation methods and new treatments for gunshot wounds A blood bank was also established at Greenslopes

194647
MAINTAINING THE TRADITION AT GREENSLOPES

In 1946 the hospital had a staff of 900 caring for up to1120 patients

Throughout the war Greenslopes patients were enlisted personnel In April 1946 the Repatriation Commission took over a ward at the hospital for discharged personnel It was agreed that when there was a ratio of six repatriation patients to four enlisted patients the commission would assume full responsibility for the hospital This trigger ratio occurred in 1947 With the change in management responsibility the hospital was renamed Repatriation General Hospital Greenslopes
Patients from the old Repatriation General Hospitalat Windsor were progressively relocated to Greenslopes War widows were also treated as part of the nations commitment to exservice personnel

While healing traumatised bodies and minds the hospital also prepared exservice personnel to return to productive new roles in postwar society The hospitals education therapy department for instance offered training in carpentry and other trade skills

1950s
Further development at Greenslopes provided for new or expanded medical surgical and psychiatric services An extension for a dispensary was added to the ground floor of the administration buildings eastern side The second floor was extended the full length of the building and other extensions were made to the rear of the building

1960s70s
The first dedicated allied health building in a repatriation hospital was opened at Greenslopes in 1968 The 200000 building housed occupational therapy physiotherapy educational therapy services a gymnasium and rooms for social workers and chaplains

An 8bed intensive therapy unit was also built but has since been demolished In the twentyfive years from 1945 the general appearance of the hospital did not change noticeably although the wards were repainted to cover the dark and unwelcoming mission brown colour with an attractive light green

UNIVERSITY TEACHING HOSPITAL

Greenslopes became a university teaching hospital in 1970 The University of Queenslands Departments of Medicine and Surgery moved to Greenslopes in 1972 and occupied teaching facilities vacated by the School of Nursing The departments were to remain there until a further extension to the administration block in 1992 provided them with modern accommodation

Diagnostic ultrasound services were established at the hospital in 1974 The following year a control centre was set up to manage the patient transport system

In 1976 outpatient services were relocated from the old Taxation Building in the city centre to the new Outpatient Clinic Block at Greenslopes In 1979 the old repatriation hospital at Windsor Rosemount was closed and its patients were transferred to Greenslopes

1980s
MULTISTOREY WING

The multistorey wing costing 115 million was opened in 1980 Though this modern efficient airconditioned building provides yearround comfort some patients felt that it lacked the character of the old wards with their verandas and triplehung windows that let in fresh air

In the mid1980s the old ambulance bay the gatehouse and a number of other buildings were demolished and a 24hour casualty department was established

PRIVATISATION OF REPATRIATION HOSPITALS

In the late1980s the Commonwealth governments Department of Veterans Affairs anticipating a decline in demand for its services began looking at alternatives to owning and operating repatriation hospitals Three options were considered hospitals could be integrated with the state health systems privatised or closed

The Commonwealth offered Greenslopes Hospital to the Queensland Government free of charge together with ongoing funding to treat veterans at Greenslopes or at any other state government hospital However the Queensland government declined to take up the offer

The Returned Services League RSL in Queensland initially opposed the privatisation of the hospital But after the Queensland Government rejected the Commonwealths offer the RSL agreed that privatisation was preferable to closure

1990s

THE DIGGERSDOZEN

The Diggers Dozen a group of volunteer workers was established at Greenslopes in 1990 as Friends of the Hospital In May of 1990 meetings were held to determine how volunteers would be recruited what their duties and responsibilities would be and how they would be trained

Sixteen volunteers were present at the formal launch of the Friends of the Hospital on 28 May 1990 including the groups prime movers Glenis Jay Margaret Bawden and Dr John Sparrow and following a successful sixmonths trial period the Diggers Dozen became an integral part of the hospitals daily functioning

When Ramsay Health Care took over the running of Greenslopes in 1995 volunteers were concerned that they might be disbanded However the new management enthusiastically embraced the work of the volunteers and continues to encourage and support their valuable contributions

GREENSLOPES IS PRIVATISED

The announcement to put Greenslopes out to tender was made in 1994 The successful tenderer Ramsay Health Care assumed responsibility for Greenslopes in January 1995

The contract ensures that although the hospital could now take in private patients veterans would continue to receive the quality and diversity of services provided prior to the sale Renamed Greenslopes Private Hospital the complex continues as a university teaching hospital partly funded by the Department of Veterans Affairs

IMPROVING QUALITY OF CARE
Through the latter half of the 1990s Ramsay Health Care continued developing the hospital campus adding and improving facilities and services Some of the early additions included
the Keith Payne Unit a 30bed psychiatric unit opened in 1996
a 40bed rehabilitation unit opened in 1997
a cardiac catheter laboratory opened in 1997
the Florence Syer Unit a 30bed subacute unit for patients awaiting
nursing home places opened in 1999

MAJOR NEW CARDIAC FACILITY

In 1999 Greenslopes Private Hospital introduced cardiac surgery By 2002 the Hospital was the major provider of cardiac services on Brisbanes southside

RAMSAY HEALTH CARE

Ramsay Health Care was founded by Paul Ramsay in 1964 By 2002 with a portfolio of 25 hospitals throughout Australia Ramsay Health Care was Australias second largest private hospital operator Following the takeover of the Repatriation General Hospital Paul Ramsay made a commitment to retain the essential character of the hospital and its strong traditions of veteran care As part of this commitment Ramsay Health Care built Anzac memorials and dedicated displays that perpetuate the hospitals history and heritage

KEITH PAYNE UNIT

Prior to 1996 psychiatric inpatient services at Greenslopes were housed in one of the old pavilion ward blocks In that year Ramsay Health Care opened a modern airconditioned facility offering inpatient outpatient dayhospital services and recreational areas

Warrant Officer Keith Payne was in 1969 a member of the Australian Army Training Team Vietnam On 24 May the South Vietnamese battalion he commanded was attacked by a large force of North Vietnamese Although wounded several times Payne organised a fighting withdrawal and saved the lives of many of his men In 1970 Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth presented WO Payne with the Victoria Cross aboard the Royal Yacht Britannia in Brisbane

FLORENCE SYER UNIT

In 1999 Ramsay Health Care recommissioned one of the old pavilion wards as interim accommodation facility for patients waiting for places in nursing homes The refurbished unit was opened in June 1999 and named the Florence Syer Unit Mrs Syer was present at the opening ceremony

The naming of the ward commemorates her remarkable war service One of many Australian nurses evacuated from Singapore in 1942 she survived the sinking of her ship and imprisonment by the Japanese Mrs Syer died in Greenslopes Private Hospital in July 2002 at the age of 86

The 21st century

AUSTRALIAS LARGEST PRIVATE HOSPITAL

By 2001 with 437 beds Greenslopes was the largest private hospital in Queensland The multistorey wing the main patient accommodation area of the Hospital was shared by veterans and private patients However the demand for private hospital accommodation in a growing Brisbane was urgent and increasing

In December 2001 the Board of Ramsay Health Care approved the most significant new development since the multistorey wing was opened in 1980 The new facility opened in March 2003 brought the total number of beds to 527 making Greenslopes Private Hospital the largest private hospital in Australia The construction managed by John Holland Pty Ltd was completed in 12 months The building incorporates ninety private rooms four operating theatres and thirtytwo onsite medical consulting suites

PROTECTING THE TRADITION

Over time the number of war veterans and widows needing care at the hospital will decline as age takes its toll However the spirit of the heroic generations of men and women who have known Greenslopes as their hospital will live on

Today everyone working at Greenslopes Private Hospital is aware of the special place the hospital has in personal and national histories Ramsay Health Care has established permanent memorials at the Hospital to host Anzac Day dawn ceremonies and other significant days of remembrance lest we forget the stories of courage endurance and service