Royal South Sydney Hospital

Royal South Sydney Hospital was a hospital in the southern Sydney suburb of Zetland, New South Wales, Australia.

Plaque on the remains of the Royal South Sydney Hospital.

Initial efforts to open a hospital in South Sydney began in 1908 when fundraising efforts by local residents saw James Joynton Smith, local businessman and racecourse owner, elected as provisional president of a future hospital. In 1912, construction of a 25 bed public hospital began and was opened in 1913. in 1917, the title of Royal was bestowed upon the hospital by the King, and capacity was expanded to 110 beds the following year.

In 1976, the present brick buildings were constructed and opened, and the hospital began to specialise in rehabilitation, orthopaedics and community health. In 1991, the hospital merged with the Prince of Wales and Prince Henry Hospitals. General hospital services, including (controversially) the emergency department [1] were slowly wound down until only community services operated from the location until 2003, when the hospital finally closed and the site was transferred to the South Sydney City Council (later, City of Sydney council).[2]

The site currently lies disused, it is anticipated that the hospital will be included as part of the Green Square town square development.[3]

References
  1. Royal South Sydney Hospital Hansard, 29 April 1992.
  2. RSSH Timeline Archived 2007-08-31 at the Wayback Machine SESAHS. Accessed 16 January 2007.
  3. Green Square DCP Archived 2007-10-14 at the Wayback Machine. City of Sydney, Accessed 16 January 2008.
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