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The Royal Children's Hospital is the leading paediatric critical care facility in Queensland, Australia, with 160 beds for sick and injured children, a wide spread of community based medical clinics, outreach programs caring for regional kids and telephone help lines for child health.

The Royal Children’s Hospital cares for children from all over Queensland, northern New South Wales, interstate and even overseas.

The hospital was founded in 1878 by Mrs Mary McConnel, wife of early Brisbane Valley pioneer David McConnel. In those days, children under five years of age were not allowed admission to an adult hospital and many of them died. Mary was so moved by the plight of the children that she rallied the support of 'ladies of position' and raised funds to establish The Hospital for Sick Children, which opened in March 1878 in rented premises in Leichhardt Street, Brisbane.

In that first year, 105 children were admitted to the tiny 15 bed hospital. Now, the hospital and its community health services treat over 30,000 children each year. To honour its achievements, Queen Elizabeth II granted a name change in 1967 to the Royal Children's Hospital.

For more than 120 years, the Royal Children's Hospital has remained at the leading edge of paediatric care, achieving several breakthroughs including:

First injection of diphtheria antitoxin in 1895

First X-ray of a child in 1896

First paediatric liver transplant in 1985

First ‘live donor’ liver transplant in 1989

Through the ongoing kindness of the community, the Royal Children's Hospital has a reputation as one of Australia’s most highly regarded hospitals.

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To see Jack playing with his younger brother Luke, you’d never imagine he has a chronic, life-threatening disease.

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