10 years of healing at Qld Children’s Hospital

The miraculous recovery of a little boy from outback Qld who was told he’d never walk again is just one of the half a million miracles performed at Queensland Children’s Hospital.

Almost half a million sick children have been treated at the Queensland Children’s Hospital since the doors opened 10 years ago on Friday, and for many of the young patients miracles have happened.

After a decade of healing, Newsweek magazine this year ranked QCH 10th in its annual

list of the world’s best specialist pediatric hospitals.

It opened under the then LNP government in 2014 as Lady Cilento Children’s Hospital, replacing the Royal Children’s and Mater Children’s hospitals, before being renamed by the Labor government in 2018.

In the hospital’s first decade more than 3.6m “episodes of care” have been provided to more than 472,000 patients including more than 710,000 emergency department presentations, more than 414,500 inpatient admissions and 2.4 million outpatient appointments.

Joey Donald leaving the QCH through a guard of honour. AT eight years old he suffered catastrophic injuries after falling off a horse at his family's property in the Atherton Tablelands.

The hospital’s surgical teams have performed more than 49,400 emergency operations and almost 117,000 planned operations, while the specialist intensive care unit has provided over 1.8m hours of intensive care to the state’s sickest and most critically injured kids.

One outstanding highlight of the world-class care provided at the South Brisbane hospital is the day that Joey Donald walked out of the facility through a guard of honour.

Joey had a 1 per cent chance of recovery after falling off his horse at his home in the Atherton Tableland.

He was eight and his injuries were catastrophic. Joey was not expected to walk again.

He was dragged 300m and was left with severe brain damage, multiple skull fractures, a broken nose and elbow, collapsed lungs, a torn liver and third-degree abrasions on his back. He was unable to talk, walk, toilet, feed himself or even sit upright. But after an intense rehabilitation program and 156 days in hospital Joey shocked everyone by walking out of QCH unaided.

The young boy’s miraculous recovery was a tribute to the medical staff and Joey’s indomitable spirit.

Celebrating 10 years of Queensland Children’s Hospital are (from left) nurse Maddie Randall, Joey Donald, 14, Julia Preston, 9, and chief of surgery Stuart Bade. Picture: Lyndon Mechielsen

That was 2018 and six years later Joey has returned to Brisbane for the hospital’s 10th birthday celebrations.

Mother Sarah Mohammed told The Courier-Mail that while he would never be 100 per cent, he was still “kicking goals”.

“We’re blessed to have the support of his mates, school, family, school and community,” she said.

“He lives for life on the farm with his working dog, motorbikes and cattle.

“His happy place is working cattle and fishing for barramundi in Tinaroo Dam.”

Children’s Health Queensland Hospital and Health Service chief executive Frank Tracey has praised the commitment to excellence of the hospital’s 4000-strong workforce.

“Every day, I see our teams demonstrate inspiring compassion, innovation and an unwavering focus on delivering safe, high-quality healthcare and outcomes for every child in our care,” he said.

Originally published as 10 years of healing at Qld Children’s Hospital