Ballarat Base Hospital
The Ballarat Base Hospital is a hospital located in Ballarat, Victoria, Australia. It is a public hospital operated by Ballarat Health Services. Ballarat Health Services employs approximately 4000 staff at the Base Hospital, the Queen Elizabeth Centre 1 km to the south-west, and 13 off-site facilities in the surrounding area.
| Ballarat Base Hospital | |
|---|---|
| Ballarat Health Services | |
 Ballarat Hospital | |
| |
| Geography | |
| Location | Ballarat, Victoria, Australia |
| Organisation | |
| Care system | Public Medicare (Australia) |
| Type | Regional |
| Affiliated university | Deakin University |
| Services | |
| Emergency department | Yes |
| Beds | 785 |
| History | |
| Opened | 1855 |
| Links | |
| Website | www |
| Lists | Hospitals in Australia |
History
During the gold rush of the 1850s, the Government Camp provided medical support but mainly for officers and not for miners and the general community. Those wounded at the Eureka Stockade in 1854 received varying attention and the need for a hospital became apparent. A year later building of a hospital commenced.
The five storey Henry Bolte wing, designed by architects Bates Smart was completed in 1994. Styled in postmodern design to blend with the city's heritage buildings it has become a landmark in Ballarat, however many consider the building ugly and bulky.
In 1997, the Ballarat Base Hospital merged with the Queen Elizabeth Centre and the Grampians Psychiatric Service to form Ballarat Health Services.
In 2005 Ballarat Health Services was awarded the Premier's Award for the Outstanding Rural and Regional Health Service in Victoria.
The Ballarat Regional Integrated Cancer Centre was completed in 2013 and incorporates a Chemotherapy unit, two Radiation Oncology Linear Accelerators, a specialised pharmacy and a Wellness Centre.
A new helipad and carpark were opened in 2015 and a new main entrance building will be opened in early 2017.
In 2015/16 Ballarat Health Services treated a total of 39,966 acute patients (an increase of 3,441 from the previous year) representing 87,926 acute bed days. The hospital delivered 1,423 babies in the 2015/16 year and 53,313 patients were seen in the Emergency Department.
Specialties
- Cardiology
- Emergency medicine
- Gastroenterology
- Infectious disease medicine
- Lower gastrointestinal surgery
- Nephrology
- Otorhinolaryngology
- Upper gastrointestinal surgery
- Vascular surgery
- Oncology
- Pediatrics
See also
Notes
Further reading
- Hyslop, Anthea, Sovereign Remedies: A History of Ballarat Base Hospital, 1850s-1980s, Allen & Unwin, Sydney, 1989
- Menadue, H. W., First Fifty Years: Ballarat Base Hospital Trained Nurses' League, 1929-1978, Ballarat Base Hospital Trained Nurses' League, Ballarat, 1978
- Menadue, H. W. (ed.), Register of the Nurse Training School 1888-1988, Ballarat Base Hospital, Ballarat Base Hospital Trained Nurses' League, Ballarat, 1993