Lady Cilento Children’s Hospital name change gathering steam

MOMENTUM is building in the push to rename Queensland’s Lady Cilento Children’s Hospital, with the chair of the hospital board throwing his support behind the move.

MOMENTUM is building in the push to rename Queensland’s Lady Cilento Children’s Hospital, with the chair of the hospital board throwing his support behind the move.

David Gow, the chair of the Children’s Health Queensland Hospital and Health Service, has penned a letter to Health Minister Steven Miles, detailing the board’s concerns with the name.

Children’s Health Queensland Hospital and Health Service chairman David Gow.

It comes after The Sunday Mail last week revealed that doctors were pushing for the hospital’s name to be changed, with more than 250 staff signing a petition for it to be called the Queensland Children’s Hospital instead.

The doctors revealed some patients believed the hospital was private.

They also raised issues with international recognition of the hospital, overseas at key conferences where doctors present research, among other concerns.

“On behalf of the board, I write to advise you that we are aware of the representations of made by CHQ (Children’s Health Queensland) clinicians and believe the feedback supports the need for further consultation in considering a name change for the hospital,” Mr Gow said in a letter to Mr Miles on Friday.

“We do have a concern that these initiatives may be impacted by the Lady Cilento name not being readily recognised and causing confusion due to the lack of connection with the CHQ name.”

He was joined by the chairman of the Children’s Hospital Foundation, Bruce Cowley, who also wrote to the minister to call for him to formally review the name.

Lady Cilento Children’s Hospital in South Brisbane. Picture: Marc Robertson

He said the foundation believed a name change would help it raise more funds.

“While we appreciate there are many factors involved in this decision and that there may be some initial confusion for donors, patients and families, alignment of the name of the Lady Cilento Children’s Hospital closer to that of the Children’s Hospital Foundation would assist the Foundation with its fundraising, through greater clarity for existing and potential donors.”

Mr Miles met with Lady Cilento doctors last week to receive their petition and is considering their concerns.