MONA VALE HOSPITAL HISTORY
Our HOSPITAL
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“Mona Vale Hospital has often been recognised as the most cherished public hospital in the state due to the donations fielded by its band of devout auxiliary volunteers.” Manly Daily, February 15, 2014
It was the community who initiated, supported and raised funds for a local hospital.
In 1955 the Government resumed land for a public hospital that had been bequeathed to the Salvation Army. A public meeting in 1958 elected the Board of Directors. Tenders were called in 1961.
In 1964, the new 152 bed acute services hospital opened to serve the growing population.
Hospital Auxiliaries had lobbied for the hospital to be built from 1950 and raised funds from a supportive community with an annual fete, dinners and fashion parades. Fundraising for equipment continues on today through the hospital kiosk and stalls.
Before its opening, patients and their families from the Pittwater area were forced to travel the length of the Northern Beaches to reach the closest hospital at Manly. A retired Manly Hospital nurse remembers the desperate rush to transport patients to that hospital before Mona Vale was built.
“As a 4th year nurse at Manly Hospital in 1954, I was certainly aware of patients who did not survive the emergency dash by ambulance or car from the northern beaches. We knew them as DOAs. It took much lobbying of the government and community fundraising before Mona Vale Hospital opened in the 1960s. Undoubtedly, Mona Vale Hospital emergency department saved lives. Now we have gone backwards, and again face a long drive to the nearest emergency department at the Northern Beaches Hospital. I fear that again nurses will be faced with an increase in people not surviving the long trip.”
Elizabeth Aird, Retired RN, October 2018
After intensive lobbying by local residents, Mona Vale Hospital was founded in 1958 when a public meeting of about 500 people gathered at Brookvale Theatre to elect a board of directors. Tenders for the construction of the new building were called in 1961.
“Australia’s quietest and most advanced hospital is being built at Mona Vale, in Sydney’s northern suburbs ... The hospital … will be a patient’s paradise ...” Canberra Times, October 16, 1963
Mona Vale Hospital was opened on February 22, 1964, by then NSW Health Minister William Sheahan. More than 20,000 people turned up to celebrate the opening, evidence of the new hospital’s importance to the local community.
Initially, the hospital accommodated 152 beds with acute specialty services in Emergency Medicine, Intensive Care, General Medicine, Orthopaedic Surgery, General Paediatrics, Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Geriatrics, Rehabilitation and Palliative Care.
The first Annual Report of the Hospital described the great participation and financial support contributed by the Hospital Auxiliaries.
A dedicated 43-bed Paediatric Unit opened in 1974, then in 1976, community health services and a comprehensive range of clinical services and facilities were added. It was also a teaching hospital of the University of Sydney. However, the stages planned initially to be added were never completed.
Since 2011, major upgrades to Mona Vale Hospital included the hospital façade, renovation of the maternity and paediatric units as well as the emergency department. Asbestos was removed from two floors to facilitate these improvements.
“Since coming to government in 2011 we have been able to achieve vital improvements, including almost $20 million in capital improvements for basic building works such as the refurbishment of the hospital’s façade, asbestos removal, new car parking and covered walkways, extra air-conditioning, the revival of dental services, the renovation of our maternity unit, the return of birthing services, the replacement of the hospital’s medical air system, the commencement of an innovative mobile digital X-ray service, purchase of new kitchen and surgical equipment, renovation of the paediatric ward, as well as new work such as the upgrade of emergency services, renovation of the community kiosk, a new wing on the rehabilitation unit and expansion of the palliative care unit. Also, work is due to be completed shortly on the construction of a brand new enlarged helicopter facility.”
Rob Stokes, MP for Pittwater, NSW Legislative Assembly Hansard and Papers May 9, 2013
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As of October 2018, Mona Vale Hospital closed as a Level 4 metropolitan general hospital. All acute specialty services were transferred at one time to the newly built Northern Beaches Hospital before the new hospital was ready and equipped for patients. Manly Hospital closed the day before.
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Today, the hospital https://www.nslhd.health.nsw.gov.au/Hospitals/MonaVale
exists as a sub-acute hospital with a focus on geriatrics and community health. The land remains in public hands, but the Government plans to lease land to private health providers.