Concord Repatriation General Hospital
Template:Infobox Hospital Concord Repatriation General Hospital (abbreviated CRGH), commonly referred to as simply Concord Hospital, is a major hospital in Sydney, Australia, located on Hospital Road in Concord. It is a teaching hospital of the University of Sydney, where it is referred to as Concord Clinical School, and a major facility in the Eastern Zone of the Sydney South West Area Health Service. The NSW Statewide Severe Burn Injury Service is located at CRGH.
Parts of the television series All Saints are filmed at CRGH.
History
Prior to the Second World War, the 16 hectare Yaralla Estate on which the hospital is built belonged to philanthropist Thomas Walker and subsequently his daughter Eadith Campbell Walker. A small hospital had already been established on the site, known as the Thomas Walker Convalescent Hospital (now the Rivendell Adolescent Unit). Following the death of Dame Eadith in 1937, the property was bequeathed to the Crown for development as a public hospital.[1][2]
The current hospital was commissioned in 1939 as a general hospital for the Australian Army. When completed in 1942, the 2000 bed Yaralla Military Hospital (113 Australian General Hospital) was the largest hospital in the Southern Hemisphere. The main hospital building (currently known as the Multi Building) was one of the tallest buildings in Sydney when completed and its design won architects Stephenson & Turner the Sulman Award in 1946. Following the war, the hospital became a repatriation hospital for returned servicemen under the jurisdiction of the Commonwealth government, with a change in name to Repatriation General Hospital, Concord (RGHC). In 1963 RGHC became a teaching hospital of the University of Sydney.[3]
Recognising the growing community need, the hospital began providing care for general community patients in 1974, including the opening of an emergency department in 1977. In 1993, the hospital was transferred to the Central Sydney Area Health Service of the New South Wales Department of Health as a public hospital and renamed to the current Concord Repatriation General Hospital.[3]
Memorials
Although it is no longer under the jurisdiction of the Department of Veterans' Affairs, the hospital retains a historical significance to the veterans community in New South Wales. A number of memorials maintain these links, including:
- Australian Hospital Ship Centaur memorial, a stained-glass window adjacent to the main entrance of the hospital
- Kokoda Track Memorial Walkway and memorial rose garden, forming the major part of the designated route for commuting to/from Rhodes railway station.
- Anzac Day remembrance services
Future
During mid-2006, construction work commenced on a new mental health precinct at the northern end of the hospital grounds. Once completed (expected in 2008), it has been planned that the Sydney South West Area Mental Health Service (SSWAHMS) will relocate the majority of its existing services from The Rozelle Hospital to the new facilities at CRGH.
References
- ↑ Concord Heritage Society Inc., Concord Heritage Society Walker Estates Subcommittee, retrieved 2007-02-17
- ↑ Walker Trusts Act 1938 No. 31, as amended. State of New South Wales.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Various presenters (2006-02-01). "Introduction to Concord Hospital". Concord Repatriation General Hospital Staff orientation 2006. Concord. Check date values in:
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