Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital

Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital (SCGH) is one of Australia's leading teaching and tertiary referral hospitals, located at the Queen Elizabeth II Medical Centre in Nedlands, approximately 4 kilometres from the Perth CBD in Western Australia. Named after Sir Charles Gairdner, a former Governor of Western Australia, the hospital first opened its doors in 1958 and has grown over more than six decades into one of the country's most sophisticated and highly regarded academic medical centres.

With over 600 beds and a workforce of approximately 5,000 staff who collectively treat over 420,000 patients every year, SCGH is a major provider of acute, complex and specialist care for Perth and the broader Western Australian population. The hospital provides a comprehensive range of clinical services including trauma, emergency and critical care, orthopaedics, general medicine, general surgery, and cardiac care — and is the Western Australian state's principal hospital for neurosurgery and liver transplantation.

SCGH is home to the Harry Perkins Institute of Medical Research and is the institutional base of Nobel Laureate Professor Barry Marshall, who was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 2005 for his revolutionary discovery that the bacterium Helicobacter pylori is responsible for peptic ulcers. This Nobel Prize-winning connection underscores the hospital's exceptional standing as a research institution.

The hospital also hosts the Western Australian Comprehensive Cancer Centre — the largest cancer treatment centre in the State — which provides radiation oncology, medical oncology, haematology and integrated cancer care services of extraordinary breadth and depth. SCGH's position at the centre of Perth's biomedical precinct, including the planned co-location with new children's and women's hospitals, positions it as the anchor institution of what will become the largest medical facility in Western Australia.

Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital offers a remarkably comprehensive range of adult clinical specialties, including a number of services that are available at only one location in Western Australia.

Neurosciences is a flagship specialty at SCGH — the hospital is the state's principal centre for neurosurgery, covering brain tumour surgery, cerebrovascular neurosurgery (aneurysm clipping and AVM surgery), spinal surgery, skull base surgery and functional neurosurgery for conditions such as Parkinson's disease. Neurology services are equally comprehensive, providing expert diagnosis and management of stroke, epilepsy, movement disorders, demyelinating diseases, neuromuscular disorders and headache.

Liver Transplantation is another exclusive statewide service based at SCGH — the hospital is the only centre in Western Australia performing liver transplants for both adults and children, coordinating with DonateLife WA for donor organ procurement and with interstate transplant centres for organ-sharing.

Cancer Services at SCGH are provided through the Western Australian Comprehensive Cancer Centre, offering radiation oncology (linear accelerator-based radiotherapy), medical oncology, haematology, bone marrow transplantation, palliative care and integrated multi-disciplinary cancer team care across virtually every cancer type. General Medicine, Cardiology, Emergency Medicine and Trauma, Orthopaedics and Trauma, Gastroenterology, Respiratory Medicine, Renal Medicine, Infectious Diseases, Endocrinology, Rheumatology, Vascular Surgery and Intensive Care Medicine complete the hospital's broad clinical portfolio.

Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital is a large, multi-building complex at the Queen Elizabeth II Medical Centre, Nedlands, with over 600 inpatient beds distributed across specialised wards for medical, surgical, oncology, neuroscience, and intensive care patients. Critical care infrastructure includes a major Intensive Care Unit (ICU), High Dependency Unit (HDU), Coronary Care Unit (CCU) and Neurological Intensive Care capacity for patients following complex neurosurgery or neurological emergencies.

Operating theatres are equipped for the full range of complex surgical procedures performed at the hospital, including neurosurgery, liver transplantation, cardiac surgery, vascular surgery, orthopaedic surgery, and oncological procedures. Hybrid theatres combine surgical capabilities with real-time imaging, enabling complex vascular and neurovascular procedures. The Western Australian Comprehensive Cancer Centre has multiple linear accelerators for radiation therapy, including advanced techniques such as stereotactic radiosurgery, IMRT and IGRT.

Medical imaging facilities include multi-detector CT, 3T MRI, PET/CT, nuclear medicine, interventional radiology (including neuro-interventional procedures for stroke treatment), and fluoroscopy. Pathology, blood bank and pharmacy services support 24-hour clinical operations. The Harry Perkins Institute of Medical Research, co-located at the campus, provides world-class laboratory and translational research infrastructure that underpins the hospital's active clinical research programs.

Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital is a public tertiary hospital and primarily serves Medicare-eligible Australian residents. However, as a statewide and national referral centre for neurosurgery, liver transplantation, complex cancer care and other highly specialised services, SCGH regularly receives referrals from overseas — particularly from South-East Asia, the Pacific Islands and the Indian subcontinent — for patients requiring expert care in these areas.

All services are delivered in English. The hospital provides professional interpreter services in a wide range of languages at no cost to the patient, recognising Perth's diverse multicultural community and the hospital's international referral role. Interpreter services are available around the clock in both face-to-face and telephone formats.

International patients who are not covered by Medicare or a bilateral healthcare agreement between Australia and their home country will be charged at the full uninsured rate for all clinical services. It is strongly recommended that international visitors and patients hold Overseas Visitor Health Cover (OVHC) from an approved Australian insurer before seeking care at SCGH. International students must hold Overseas Student Health Cover (OSHC). The hospital's patient liaison team can assist international patients and their families with the administrative and logistical aspects of their care journey, including referral coordination, accommodation assistance and discharge planning.

Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital is fully accredited by the Australian Council on Healthcare Standards (ACHS) under the EQuIP National accreditation program, confirming its sustained compliance with national hospital quality and patient safety standards. ACHS accreditation encompasses comprehensive assessment of clinical governance, patient safety systems, infection control, medication management, consumer rights, workforce standards and continuous quality improvement.

SCGH is part of North Metropolitan Health Service (NMHS) — the WA Health Service Provider responsible for hospitals in Perth's north metropolitan area — and is subject to WA Health's comprehensive performance framework, including regular reporting to the WA Department of Health on emergency access, elective surgery, patient safety events and other key performance indicators.

The hospital's training programs across medicine, nursing and allied health are accredited by the relevant national specialist bodies including the Royal Australasian College of Physicians (RACP), the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons (RACS), the Australasian College for Emergency Medicine (ACEM) and other specialist colleges. SCGH is a teaching hospital for University of Western Australia (UWA) medical graduates and University of Notre Dame Australia, and is a highly sought-after training destination for postgraduate medical officers seeking experience in a high-volume, high-acuity academic medical centre.