About St V’s

History of St Vincent’s Hospital, Melbourne

In 1889, five Sisters of Charity arrived in Melbourne with the dream of establishing a hospital. For over a century Melbourne has been thankful that they succeeded.

St. Vincent’s Hospital has developed into one of Australia’s truly great medical institutions and the people of Melbourne are justly proud.

St. Vincent’s opened on 6 November, 1893 – a new hospital for Melbourne, which was financed entirely through charitable donations. When it expanded dramatically a decade later this was achieved almost completely through the generosity of Melbourne yet again. That tradition has never waned and more than one hundred years later it has never been more important. Since its inception, St. Vincent’s has treated Victorians living with cancer.

The hospital was established in Fitzroy by the Sisters of Charity. Today, St. Vincent’s is a leading teaching, research and tertiary health service providing integrated care across 17 sites throughout Melbourne. Part of the Sisters of Charity Health Service, St. Vincent’s comprises St. Vincent’s Hospital Melbourne, St. George’s Health Service, Prague House and Caritas Christi Hospice.

Key milestones in history are as follows:  

• 1893 – St. Vincent’s Hospital established in Fitzroy by the Sisters of Charity 
• 1938 – Caritas Christi Hospice established in Studley Park Road, Kew to provide care for the terminally ill
• 1976 – Prague House established at 52 Sackville Street, Kew to provide residential services for older men with particular health needs who have experienced homelessness. A new purpose-built Prague House is being re-established adjacent to St. George’s at Cotham Road and opened in 2006 when its residents were relocated, the Sackville site having been sold some time ago
• 2001 – St. George’s Health Service becomes an integral part of St. Vincent’s, providing specialised aged care and rehabilitation services

The values of the Sisters of Charity are at the foundation of all St. Vincent’s services, guiding policy and decision-making and calling for all members of staff and volunteers to demonstrate compassion, justice, human dignity, excellence and unity in all their daily activities.

St. Vincent’s Hospital in Fitzroy has 829 beds, an operating revenue of more than $460million and employs over 5,000 staff. St. Vincent’s provides a diverse range of adult clinical services including acute medical and surgical services, sub-acute care, medical diagnostics, rehabilitation, allied health, mental health, palliative care, correctional health and community residential care.

The Communities we serve

St. Vincent’s serves a diverse community and cares for more than 400,000 patients each year. Geographically our primary catchment takes in the municipalities of Yarra, Boroondarra, Darebin and Moreland. 45 per cent of inpatients come from our primary and secondary catchments, a further 39 per cent from other parts of Melbourne, 13 per cent from regional or rural Victoria and three per cent from interstate, overseas or are itinerant.