Cilento family’s last throw of dice to stop ‘illogical’ hospital renaming
LADY Phyllis Cilento’s family has released an open letter to Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk calling for a last-minute change of heart on removing her name from the state’s children’s hospital.
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LADY Phyllis Cilento’s family has released an open letter to Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk calling for a last-minute change of heart on removing her name from the state’s children’s hospital.
The letter is signed by former premier Campbell Newman and LNP Leader Deb Frecklington, among others, and calls on Ms Palaszczuk to reverse the decision to change the hospital’s name from Lady Cilento Children’s Hospital to the Queensland Children’s Hospital.
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CHANGING NAME OF THE LADY CILENTO HOSPITAL ‘POLITICAL NONSENSE’
“Instead of celebrating Lady Cilento, her name is now to be physically ripped down because a small group of doctors and politicians are seeking to assert their own agenda,” the letter reads.
“Therefore we, the undersigned, are calling on the Premier of Queensland Annastacia Palaszczuk to reverse Health Minister Steven Miles’ decision.”
It is the latest salvo in the family’s bid to stop the renaming and comes after they last month rejected alternatives offered by the Government to ensure Lady Cilento was still honoured in some way.
The Premier has supported the decision to rename the hospital with the name officially changed on Friday by regulation.
The signage will be removed from the hospital in coming weeks.
The Government moved to change the hospital name following a concerted campaign from doctors, backed by both the hospital’s board and its main fundraising organisation.
The family’s open letter, however, labels the rebranding of the hospital “heartless, sexist and completely illogical”.
“As Queenslanders, we want better. We expect more from our politicians and we are standing together to fight for it.
“We hope that the Queensland Premier will join us, the undersigned, and more than seven thousand people who’ve put their names to our petitions.”
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