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South Australia - Organisation

Queen Victoria Hospital (1966 - 1989)

  • Queen Victoria Hospital - damaged and abandoned, 30/9/1998

    Queen Victoria Hospital - damaged and abandoned, 30/9/1998, 30 September 1998, by Messenger Press photographer, courtesy of State Library of South Australia.
    Details

From
1966
To
1989
Categories
Adoption Agency, Care Provider, Hospital and Maternity Home
Alternative Names
  • QVH (Acronym)

Queen Victoria Hospital was the new name given to the Queen Victoria Maternity Hospital in 1966. Run by a committee of management the Hospital provided maternity and other women's health services. It also operated as an adoption agency. From 1983 some men were also admitted. In 1989 the Queen Victoria Hospital and the Adelaide Children's Hospital were amalgamated to form the Adelaide Medical Centre for Women and Children.

Details

By the mid 1960s the Queen Victoria Maternity Hospital had expanded beyond its original role as a Maternity Hospital to provide other medical services including gynaecology. The management committee of the Hospital voted to change the name to the Queen Victoria Hospital Incorporated in 1966.

Between 1964 and 1968 an extensive program of new building and refurbishment of the old buildings was in operation. In 1966 a £10,000 extension to the nursery was built to deal with an increase in the number of babies awaiting adoption. According to a history of the QVH written by Ian L.D. Forbes, this increase was caused by a change in legislation, with the passing of the Adoption of Children Act 1966/67. At one stage accommodation was being sought for twenty to thirty infants who were being cared for prior to being adopted. An agreement was also made with the Mothers and Babies Health Association to transfer some of these children to Torrens House.

On 27 January 1967 a new multi-storey wing was officially opened by the Governor to aid with the expansion of the hospital's services.

In February 1982, a comprehensive statement of the role of the Queen Victoria Hospital was approved. The institution was defined as a specialist teaching hospital in obstetrics, gynaecology, and neonatology, with a specific role to provide normal and high risk obstetric and neonatal care. According to Forbes:

It was a full and optimistic statement of the hospital's emergence as a complete women's hospital.

However, in 1983 male patients with fertility issues began to be treated at the Hospital which up until that time had served only women and babies.

On 15th March 1989 the Queen Victoria Hospital and the Adelaide Children's Hospital were amalgamated to form the Adelaide Medical Centre for Women and Children, known from 1995 as the Women's and Children's Hospital.

Location

1966 - 1989
Address - The Queen Victoria Hospital Incorporated was situated at 160 Fullarton Road, Rose Park. Location: Rose Park

Timeline

 1902 - 1939 Queen's Home
       1939 - 1966 Queen Victoria Maternity Hospital
             1966 - 1989 Queen Victoria Hospital
                   1989 - 1995 Adelaide Medical Centre for Women and Children
                         1995 - Women's and Children's Hospital

Related Organisations

Publications

Books

  • Forbes, Ian L.D., The Queen Victoria Hospital, Rose Park, South Australia 1901-1987, Lutheran Publishing House, Adelaide, South Australia, 1988. Details

Online Resources

  • State Records of South Australia, 'Agency Details: GA1897 The Queen Victoria Hospital Incorporated and predecessors', in State Records of South Australia, ArchivesSearch, http://archives.sa.gov.au. Details

Photos

Queen Victoria Hospital Inc
Title
Queen Victoria Hospital Inc
Type
Image
Date
1970s
Source
'The Queen Victoria Hospital, Rose Park, South Australia', Ian L D Forbes

Details

Queen Victoria Hospital - damaged and abandoned, 30/9/1998
Title
Queen Victoria Hospital - damaged and abandoned, 30/9/1998
Type
Image
Date
30 September 1998
Creator
Messenger Press photographer
Source
State Library of South Australia

Details

Sources used to compile this entry: Forbes, Ian L.D., The Queen Victoria Hospital, Rose Park, South Australia 1901-1987, Lutheran Publishing House, Adelaide, South Australia, 1988; State Records of South Australia, 'Agency Details: GA1897 The Queen Victoria Hospital Incorporated and predecessors', in State Records of South Australia, ArchivesSearch, http://archives.sa.gov.au.

Prepared by: Gary George