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History of Dalcross

Dalcross Private Hospital Killara

In 1912 the first hospital was built on the current Killara site. It was named "Chesalon" and had 23 beds and one operating theatre. In 1923 it was sold and renamed "Dalcross" after the Scottish seat of the McIntosh family, its new owners. It was originally an Obstetric hospital, however by 1942 it was providing a wide variety of medical and surgical treatments, and obstetrics was abandoned. The hospital was very successful, and became an integral part of the local community.

In 1961 the hospital was sold again and a new surgical wing was built, increasing the bed capacity from 23 to 60. The operating theatre was significantly upgraded, and a lift was added to transport patients between floors. It was opened in 1963 and the old south wing became a medical ward.  In 1976, under new owners, a second new wing was built and included comfortable suites with two beds and en-suite bathrooms, raising the standard of accommodation considerably and increasing the number of beds to 91. A second operating theatre was also added.

In 1987, the original federation building from 1912 was decommissioned as inpatient accommodation because of modern safety and fire department requirements. Bed capacity was reduced to 58 beds, and the federation building was used for radiology and office accommodation. In early 1992, the upper floor of the one wing was converted to a Day Surgical facility and expanded recovery ward, while part of the original federation building was converted into a rehabilitation unit. A complete refurbishment and upgrading of technology was undertaken, and the hospital’s capacity was again reduced from 58 beds to 38 beds plus 15 day surgical beds.

New owners purchased the hospital in December 1992, and immediately concentrated on achieving a first accreditation for the hospital, with 3 years accreditation awarded in September 1993. A significant early development was the construction of a Hydrotherapy Pool commissioned in February 1993. Since this time, the Hydrotherapy Pool has been replaced by expanded diagnostic facilities.

Neurosurgeons from Royal North Shore Hospital commenced spinal surgery at Dalcross at this time. The Hospital Board recognised this as a significant development opportunity, and began to purchase specialised equipment for this specialty. It was recognised that the accommodation facilities were restrictive and needed modernising to remain competitive long-term. The theatres were inadequate and in need of major expansion. Despite increased utilisation the need to upgrade the Hospital was essential.

Completed in 1995, a total redevelopment took 18 months and included increased bed capacity from 38 to 56 beds; development of the theatre block to include three theatres; and Intensive Care Unit; and introduction of diagnostic facilities. Dalcross was transformed from a "cottage" hospital to a small acute, highly specialised, modern hospital, and quickly became established as the busiest, most comprehensive private neurosurgical hospital in Australia.

Dalcross Private Hospital was purchased by Sydney Adventist Hospital Limited in June 2010 and renamed Dalcross Adventist Hospital. With a current capacity of 51 beds, Dalcross remains one of Australia’s foremost niche private hospitals.