Royal North Shore Hospital

RNSH is the principal tertiary referral hospital for the Northern Sydney Local Health District.^[4] It is also a major Trauma Centre which provides specialised services in the areas of severe burns, neonatal intensive care, spinal cord injury and interventional radiology. The Kolling Institute of Medical Research is a health and medical research centre with a focus on research training. Its primary referral area accommodates 5.7% of the Australian population or 17% of the NSW population.


RNSH was ranked as the third best hospital in Australia, based on the Newsweek 2023 World's Best Hospitals list.^[5]

Notable incidents[edit]

In 2005, 16-year-old Vanessa Anderson was hit by a golf ball. She died two days later in RNSH. The coroner found that "almost every conceivable omission had occurred in her treatment".^[15]


Following the case of patient Jana Horska, who suffered a miscarriage in the hospital's toilet as a result of lack of available beds and staff, the State Government established the Joint Select Committee on the Royal North Shore Hospital in the New South Wales Parliament on 23 October 2007, chaired by Christian Democrats leader Fred Nile MLC. The committee was formally established on 23 October 2007, and tabled its report on 20 December 2007. The report made 45 recommendations.^[16]


In early 2008, a Special Commission of Inquiry into Acute Care Services in NSW Public Hospitals was commissioned.^[17] This comprehensive and ground breaking commission became known as The Garling Report. It reported in November 2008. The NSW State Government responded in March 2009. It found a "prevalent" problem associated with the care of the deteriorating patient in NSW public hospitals. As a result, a statewide system of monitoring vital signs to detect deteriorating patients was introduced. This system includes red and yellow "Between the Flags" colour-coded observation charts for recording a person's vital signs, allowing for easy visual recognition of deterioration. Observation charts have been developed for Adult, Paediatric, Maternity and Emergency patients. By 2012 it had been implemented in every public hospital in NSW.


In August 2015, a patient of the outpatient diabetes clinic attended RNSH for a routine appointment at 9:30 am. The patient failed to present to the clinical staff and was subsequently listed as a "no-show" to his appointment. His spouse later, concerned that her partner had not returned from his appointment, contacted RNSH and advised staff that her partner did not attend his scheduled appointment. It was not until 6:30 am the following day that a cleaner located the man in a public toilet within the hospital premises. It was found that the patient suffered a stroke.^[18]


In August 2016, RNSH came under fire when it was revealed that doctors at the hospital were issuing restricted antibiotics to tens of thousands of patients, without seeking approval.^[19] Northern Sydney Local Health District's system through which approval to prescribe the powerful antibiotics is sought, called eASY, had not been used to generate any of these prescriptions. Use of the eASY system, designed to combat the spread of superbugs, had fallen to just 35% in May 2016.


A foetus was incorrectly cremated in an incident in August 2015 that resulted in the parents being unable to bury their child as per their wishes. The admission came after state budget estimates exposed a separate body swap at RNSH, in which the daughter of a deceased patient found that staff had incorrectly tagged her remains.^[20]