How to save the Lady Cilento Children’s Hospital name

BELIEVE it or not, the current outrage over the State Government’s decision to change the name of the Lady Cilento Children’s Hospital could be the very thing that saves it. TAKE THE POLL

• Lady Cilento’s son weighs in on name-change outrage
• Mike Colman: Why stop at renaming the Lady Cilento?

THE current outrage over the State Government’s decision to change the name of the Lady Cilento Children’s Hospital could be the very thing that saves it.

Dr Edwina Luck, a senior lecturer at the QUT School of Business, said widespread media coverage over the furore was actually the perfect platform to re-launch Lady Cilento Children’s Hospital and not re-name it.

Health Minister Steven Miles yesterday opened a one-month consultation period to consider whether the Lady Cilento should become the Queensland Children’s Hospital, as it was known in the planning stages.

The hospital was named by the Newman Government in late 2013, in honour of Queensland medical practitioner and author Lady Phyllis Cilento.

Doctors claim the Lady Cilento name confuses many parents, who believe the hospital is privately operated. They have also said the name was struggling to be recognised by the international medical fraternity.

But Ms Luck said all stakeholders, including doctors, researchers and staff, need to promote the hospital and ultimately the lack of education about the facility sits with the internal marketing department.

“A brand is a perception in people’s mind,” Dr Luck said.

“If the stakeholders are confused then it’s definitely a problem for the Lady Cilento’s marketing or whoever is in charge of marketing.

“With the hospital being in the limelight it would be the perfect to start for an education campaign about the hospital and re-establish the brand.”

The Lady Cilento Children’s Hospital in South Brisbane. Picture: Mark Cranitch.

Professor Bill Merrilees from Griffith University’s Department of Marketing warned there may be more confusion if the name is changed and it was a “bad reason” to suit a stakeholder or two.

The Queensland Government has started an online survey for feedback on the re-naming of the hospital after more than 800 staff at the hospital signed a petition for it to be titled The Queensland Children’s Hospital.

“You have to change a name for a good reason and it needs to be well thought out … it’s clear they are doing it to please some stakeholders to getting some research papers published,” he said.

“Changing a name is the worst kind of rebranding as the name is rarely the problem … there should be a better reason and more strategic way to do it.”

He said the hospital would be better building on the publicity and discussion over the name to re-establish the brand, which would also be less costly than re-naming it.