St Vincent's Hospital, Melbourne
Encyclopedia
St Vincent's Hospital, Melbourne is the major hospital in Fitzroy
, Melbourne
, Australia
.
It is operated by the St Vincent's Health service, previously known as the Sisters of Charity Health Service, Melbourne
. It is situated at the corner of Nicholson Street
and Victoria Street.
The hospital is a tertiary referral centre which offers a variety of medical, surgical and mental health specialities.
. Initially conceived as a branch of the Sydney institution of the same name
the hospital was intended to be a charitable institution, which was hoped would help bolster Melbourne's minimal health care. This idea was given avid support by Melbourne's Catholic Archbishop, Dr Thomas Carr, who welcomed the idea of a hospital to take care of the 'poor and sick and abandoned children... the young girls of poor parents and servants...' These ideals corresponded directly with prevalent Victorian ideas of benevolence, which were particularly popular with the middle classes. In these early days, the hospital was quite small, with room for less than 100 beds. The hospital soon built up ties with the working class suburb of Fitzroy
(in which the hospital was located), which had been deliberately selected by the founding sisters of the Hospital, with many of the poorer residents taking advantage of the advent of a charitable hospital opening up on their doorstep.
Over time it became a large public hospital, with close links to the Mercy Hospital, Melbourne. It also has a private hospital
associated with it.
In July 2002, the Sisters of Charity Health Service, Melbourne
was rebranded as St Vincent's Health.
A new building was recently constructed behind the original building, which is now heritage-listed. The new hospital has been widely praised for its innovative design - for example, complementary medical and surgical specialties (such as neurology/neurosurgery) exist on opposite sides of the same ward, there are decentralised nurses' stations, and satellite pharmacies on every second floor stocking locally relevant medications.
. It is one of the clinical schools at the University of Melbourne (the others being based at the Royal Melbourne Hospital
, the Austin Hospital
, Western Hospital, the Northern Hospital, Epping
, Goulburn Valley Health
, Ballarat Base Hospital
and Northeast Health).
St Vincent's Hospital is also a clinical school of the University of Notre Dame, Sydney. Third and fourth year students have placements in geriatrics, anaesthetics and ICU.
The hospital also offers a wide range of postgraduate training programs.
Note: This is not an exhaustive list.
St Vincent's Health operates a mental health ward and an Enhanced Crisis Assessment & Treatment Team & Triage Service (ECATT) that assesses patients in the Emergency Department.
Fitzroy, Victoria
Fitzroy is an inner city suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 2 km north-east from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the City of Yarra. Its borders are Alexandra Parade , Victoria Parade , Smith Street and Nicholson Street. Fitzroy is Melbourne's...
, Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
.
It is operated by the St Vincent's Health service, previously known as the Sisters of Charity Health Service, Melbourne
Sisters of Charity Health Service, Melbourne
The Sisters of Charity Health Service, Melbourne was an entity that has since been reformed into St Vincent's Hospital, Melbourne, the Mater Hospital, Melbourne and other health services....
. It is situated at the corner of Nicholson Street
Nicholson Street, Melbourne
Nicholson Street is a street in inner Melbourne. It is named after William Nicholson, then member of the Legislative Council, and later Premier of Victoria from 1859 to 1860.-Geography:...
and Victoria Street.
The hospital is a tertiary referral centre which offers a variety of medical, surgical and mental health specialities.
History
St Vincent's Hospital was opened in 1893 as a Catholic hospital owned and operated by the Sisters of CharitySisters of Charity of Australia
The Sisters of Charity of Australia is a congregation of Roman Catholic women religious who have served the people of Australia since 1838...
. Initially conceived as a branch of the Sydney institution of the same name
St Vincent's Hospital, Sydney
St Vincent's Public Hospital, Sydney is located in the inner city suburb of Darlinghurst. Though part of the New South Wales state public health system it remains under the auspices of the Sisters of Charity.-History:...
the hospital was intended to be a charitable institution, which was hoped would help bolster Melbourne's minimal health care. This idea was given avid support by Melbourne's Catholic Archbishop, Dr Thomas Carr, who welcomed the idea of a hospital to take care of the 'poor and sick and abandoned children... the young girls of poor parents and servants...' These ideals corresponded directly with prevalent Victorian ideas of benevolence, which were particularly popular with the middle classes. In these early days, the hospital was quite small, with room for less than 100 beds. The hospital soon built up ties with the working class suburb of Fitzroy
Fitzroy, Victoria
Fitzroy is an inner city suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 2 km north-east from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the City of Yarra. Its borders are Alexandra Parade , Victoria Parade , Smith Street and Nicholson Street. Fitzroy is Melbourne's...
(in which the hospital was located), which had been deliberately selected by the founding sisters of the Hospital, with many of the poorer residents taking advantage of the advent of a charitable hospital opening up on their doorstep.
Over time it became a large public hospital, with close links to the Mercy Hospital, Melbourne. It also has a private hospital
St Vincents & Mercy Private Hospital
St Vincents & Mercy Private is a hospital in Victoria of Australia, which is located across three campuses in the Melbourne suburbs of Fitzroy, East Melbourne and Kew. The private hospital is jointly owned by the catholic Sisters of Charity and the Sisters of Mercy, as a result of a joint venture...
associated with it.
In July 2002, the Sisters of Charity Health Service, Melbourne
Sisters of Charity Health Service, Melbourne
The Sisters of Charity Health Service, Melbourne was an entity that has since been reformed into St Vincent's Hospital, Melbourne, the Mater Hospital, Melbourne and other health services....
was rebranded as St Vincent's Health.
A new building was recently constructed behind the original building, which is now heritage-listed. The new hospital has been widely praised for its innovative design - for example, complementary medical and surgical specialties (such as neurology/neurosurgery) exist on opposite sides of the same ward, there are decentralised nurses' stations, and satellite pharmacies on every second floor stocking locally relevant medications.
The Clinical School
A clinical school was opened in St Vincent's Hospital in 1909 as part of the University of MelbourneFaculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences, University of Melbourne
-General:The of the University of Melbourne is the University’s largest and most diverse faculty, consisting of 52 schools, departments and centres....
. It is one of the clinical schools at the University of Melbourne (the others being based at the Royal Melbourne Hospital
Royal Melbourne Hospital
The Royal Melbourne Hospital , located in Parkville, Victoria an inner suburb of Melbourne is one of Australia’s leading public hospitals. It is a major teaching hospital for tertiary health care with a reputation in clinical research...
, the Austin Hospital
Austin Hospital, Melbourne
The Austin Hospital is a major teaching public hospital located in Melbourne's north eastern suburb of Heidelberg, and is administrated by Austin Health, along with the Heidelberg Repatriation Hospital and the Royal Talbot Rehabilitation Centre.-History:...
, Western Hospital, the Northern Hospital, Epping
The Northern Hospital, Epping
The Northern Hospital in Epping, Melbourne, Australia, is major hospital and community centre. It lies immediately to the west of Epping Plaza....
, Goulburn Valley Health
Goulburn Valley Health
Goulburn Valley Health, formerly called the Goulburn Valley Base Hospital, is based in the regional city of Shepparton, 2 hours drive north of Melbourne, and caters for the 160,000 people in its region...
, Ballarat Base Hospital
Ballarat Base Hospital
The Ballarat Base Hospital is a hospital located in Ballarat, Victoria, Australia. It is a public hospital operated by Ballarat Health Services...
and Northeast Health).
St Vincent's Hospital is also a clinical school of the University of Notre Dame, Sydney. Third and fourth year students have placements in geriatrics, anaesthetics and ICU.
The hospital also offers a wide range of postgraduate training programs.
Clinical Specialities and Services Offered
There are several medical and surgical wards at St Vincent's Hospital. There is also a psychiatric unit and an Emergency Department.Note: This is not an exhaustive list.
- Anaesthesia
- Emergency DepartmentEmergency departmentAn emergency department , also known as accident & emergency , emergency room , emergency ward , or casualty department is a medical treatment facility specialising in acute care of patients who present without prior appointment, either by their own means or by ambulance...
, including facilities for resuscitation - Intensive Care UnitIntensive Care Unitthumb|220px|ICU roomAn intensive-care unit , critical-care unit , intensive-therapy unit/intensive-treatment unit is a specialized department in a hospital that provides intensive-care medicine...
Medical
- CardiologyCardiologyCardiology is a medical specialty dealing with disorders of the heart . The field includes diagnosis and treatment of congenital heart defects, coronary artery disease, heart failure, valvular heart disease and electrophysiology...
- Respiratory
- NeurologyNeurologyNeurology is a medical specialty dealing with disorders of the nervous system. Specifically, it deals with the diagnosis and treatment of all categories of disease involving the central, peripheral, and autonomic nervous systems, including their coverings, blood vessels, and all effector tissue,...
- GastroenterologyGastroenterologyGastroenterology is the branch of medicine whereby the digestive system and its disorders are studied. The name is a combination of three Ancient Greek words gaster , enteron , and logos...
- OncologyOncologyOncology is a branch of medicine that deals with cancer...
- Infectious Diseases, Clinical microbiology
- EndocrinologyEndocrinologyEndocrinology is a branch of biology and medicine dealing with the endocrine system, its diseases, and its specific secretions called hormones, the integration of developmental events such as proliferation, growth, and differentiation and the coordination of...
- NephrologyNephrologyNephrology is a branch of internal medicine and pediatrics dealing with the study of the function and diseases of the kidney.-Scope of the specialty:...
- RheumatologyRheumatologyRheumatology is a sub-specialty in internal medicine and pediatrics, devoted to diagnosis and therapy of rheumatic diseases. Clinicians who specialize in rheumatology are called rheumatologists...
- Haematology
- Addiction MedicineAddiction MedicineAddiction medicine is a medical specialty that deals with the treatment of addiction. The specialty often crosses over into other areas, since various aspects of addiction fall within the fields of public health, psychology, social work, psychiatry, and internal medicine, among others...
- General Medicine
Surgical
- MicrosurgeryMicrosurgeryMicrosurgery is a general term for surgery requiring an operating microscope. The most obvious developments have been procedures developed to allow anastomosis of successively smaller blood vessels and nerves which have allowed transfer of tissue from one part of the body to another and...
- Plastic SurgeryPlastic surgeryPlastic surgery is a medical specialty concerned with the correction or restoration of form and function. Though cosmetic or aesthetic surgery is the best-known kind of plastic surgery, most plastic surgery is not cosmetic: plastic surgery includes many types of reconstructive surgery, hand...
- Cardiothoracic SurgeryCardiothoracic SurgeryCardiothoracic surgery is the field of medicine involved in surgical treatment of diseases affecting organs inside the thorax —generally treatment of conditions of the heart and lungs .-Cardiac / Thoracic:...
- Orthopaedic Surgery
- Colorectal Surgery
- UrologyUrologyUrology is the medical and surgical specialty that focuses on the urinary tracts of males and females, and on the reproductive system of males. Medical professionals specializing in the field of urology are called urologists and are trained to diagnose, treat, and manage patients with urological...
- NeurosurgeryNeurosurgeryNeurosurgery is the medical specialty concerned with the prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of disorders which affect any portion of the nervous system including the brain, spine, spinal cord, peripheral nerves, and extra-cranial cerebrovascular system.-In the United States:In...
- General SurgeryGeneral surgeryGeneral surgery, despite its name, is a surgical specialty that focuses on abdominal organs, e.g., intestines including esophagus, stomach, small bowel, colon, liver, pancreas, gallbladder and bile ducts, and often the thyroid gland . They also deal with diseases involving the skin, breast, soft...
- Upper GI Surgery
Mental Health
- PsychiatryPsychiatryPsychiatry is the medical specialty devoted to the study and treatment of mental disorders. These mental disorders include various affective, behavioural, cognitive and perceptual abnormalities...
- ECATT team
St Vincent's Health operates a mental health ward and an Enhanced Crisis Assessment & Treatment Team & Triage Service (ECATT) that assesses patients in the Emergency Department.