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SEPTEMBER 14

1957: The Queen Elizabeth Hospital (QEH) was opened by the Countess of Perth and Minister of State for Colonial Affairs, the Earl of Perth at 5.30pm. The 140-bed hospital was estimated to cost $2.587m and three quarters of the cost was met by UK through a grant from the Colonial Development and Welfare Fund.

The Naming Committee decided that like the Duchess of Kent Hospital, the name of this hospital should also bear a mark of royal flavour. The hospital’s main building layout was by Robertson of Messers Palmer & Turner. It is the second but biggest modern hospital built in the colony, with considerable assistance from Unicef in the form of equipment, specialist advice and training. 

The Queen during her visit in 1972.

During the early days the hospital had only a few staff comprising a Matron, Sister-Tutor, two Sisters, 17 nurses and 34 Dressers. It succeeded the Duchess of Kent hospital in the training of nurses and dressers for the colony. In 1982, an eight-storey extension to the main hospital building was completed at $21m. It has 290 extra beds, an Intensive Care Unit (ICU) that was not available before, additional surgical wards, VIP rooms and four lifts.