Westmead Hospital opens as a teaching hospital of the Faculty of Medicine in 1978
From Faculty of Medicine Online Museum and Archive
In 1978 Westmead Hospital opened as a University of Sydney teaching hospital. It was the first hospital since Royal Prince Alfred to be built as a teaching hospital in NSW. The University was closely associated with its development and planning, and (Sir) Professor John Loewenthal and Professor John Read in particular played important roles in its establishment. At this time, the Hospital provided clinical schools for medical and dental students, as well as clinical training for students from the Cumberland College of Health Sciences. Professors of Surgery, Medicine, Paediatrics, Obstetrics and Gynaecology, and Geriatric and Community Medicine were appointed along with Senior Lecturers in the same disciplines, and part-time clinical lecturers. The title of Clinical Professor was conferred on the Directors of Radiotherapy, of the Institute of Clinical Pathology and Medical Research, and of Psychiatry. The Professor of Dentistry was appointed Director of Dental Services. At the time of its inception, the Western Metropolitan Health Region had a population of around 1.3 million which Westmead served; not only did it function as a district hospital but also as a major referral complex for the region.[1]