Royal North Shore Hospital

The Royal North Shore Hospital (RNSH) is a major public teaching hospital in Sydney, Australia, located in St Leonards. It serves as a teaching hospital for the University of Sydney and has approximately 740 beds. It is a major hospital in the Northern Sydney Health area, providing health care for the Lower and Upper North Shore area.

History
The Royal North Shore Hospital began as a cottage hospital in located in Willoughby Rd, Crows Nest. The foundation stone was laid by Sir Henry Parkes, 18th June, 1887. The hospital was opened with accommodation for 14 patients, with the requisite office and rooms for the medical and nursing staff. Medical staff numbered 4 honorary doctors and nursing staff numbered 5. The site of the original hospital was bounded by Willoughby Rd., Albany and Holterman Streets and Zig Zag Lane. The old site is now a busy part of the commercial center of Willoughby.

In 1903 it moved to its current site at St Leonards, with 48 beds available for patients. It became a teaching hospital of the University of Sydney in 1947.

Currently, the Royal North Shore Hospital  (RNSH) is a 740 bed hospital situated in St Leonards, Sydney, Australia. Situated at the hospital is the Kolling Institute of Medical Research. Royal North Shore Hospital provides postgraduate training in a number of specialties, including medicine, surgery, nursing and allied health.

RNSH provides care to the local community, the Northern Sydney Health area (population: 777,000), New South Wales and also to the Pacific Island nations.

RNSH is located on Sydney's lower north shore about 6km from the CBD, surrounded by suburbs with some of the most stunning harbour views of Sydney. The hospital is 118 years old and a leading research and trauma centre with a particular interest and expertise in cancer diagnosis and treatment, cardiovascular disease, spinal cord injury, severe burn injury, neonatal, intensive care, neurosurgery, pain management and anaesthesia.

The Hospital is currently undergoing total redevelopment. Approval for construction was given in July 2000. The new clinical services building (The Douglas Building) marks the first stage of the redevelopment of the entire hospital campus. The NSW government has allocated approximately A$450 million for this project, the largest in NSW Health history. This new development will no doubt ensure the hospital maintains its role as a health care leader in Australia.

Like with many other Sydney hospitals, RNSH has, in recent times, suffered budget cuts due to an alleged state government policy of redistributing health resources. The problem is especially apparent after the Jana Horska case in September 2007, when a pregnant woman suffered a miscarriage in the hospital's toilet due to a lack of available beds and staff, and a neurosurgeon's claim that a patient had to wait 5 days for an urgent spinal surgery due to a lack of staff.