A bigger emergency department opens at the Royal Children’s in December
Twenty more treatment spaces and more than 85 extra staff should let the hospital see about 13,000 more children a year. Here’s what changes, and where else to go when it isn’t an emergency.
Every parent in Melbourne knows the waiting room at the Royal Children’s Hospital in Parkville. It already sees more than 80,000 emergency patients a year. From December, it gets bigger.
The expanded emergency department opens this December, the Victorian Government announced on 16 October, with $66 million to staff the new spaces from the first day. The hospital says the bigger department will have about a third more treatment spaces and a second waiting room.
What’s new
- 20 extra treatment spaces, including new cubicles, short-stay beds and fast-track bays.
- A second waiting room, according to the hospital.
- A new procedure room, so minor procedures can be done in the emergency department without admitting a child to a ward.
- More than 85 extra full-time positions, including up to 25 graduate nurses.
It is the second stage of the hospital’s expansion. The first stage, a new 30-bed ward, is already open and treating about 2,730 more children a year, the government says.
When it isn’t an emergency
A bigger emergency department helps, but for many fevers, sprains and earaches there are faster free options in Victoria:
- NURSE-ON-CALL on 1300 60 60 24, 24 hours a day, for advice from a registered nurse.
- Victorian Virtual Emergency Department at vved.org.au: a free video call with an emergency doctor or nurse, 24 hours a day.
- Medicare Urgent Care Clinics: walk-in, bulk-billed care for urgent but not life-threatening problems, usually open from 8am to 10pm. Find one at Better Health Channel.
If your child has trouble breathing, is unconscious or you think their life is at risk, call Triple Zero (000).
Sources: Victorian Government, Royal Children’s To Treat An Extra 13,000 Kids A Year, 16 October 2026; The Royal Children’s Hospital, Expansion Project; Better Health Channel. General information, not medical advice.