No.
6 Hospital will formally celebrate its 60th anniversary on Friday,
November 29, at RAAF Base Williams, Laverton.
The Officer Commanding Health Services Wing, Group Captain Amanda
Dines, current and former serving members of the unit and the
RAAF Central Band will be among those to attend the celebrations.
The event will also mark the end of an era – as a result
of the Defence Reform Program and under the Commercial Support
Program, 6HOSP will be disbanded as of December 14 and health
care in Victoria will be contracted out.
6HOSP was formed on November 16, 1942. From humble beginnings
as a lodger unit of No. 115 Army General Hospital Heidelberg,
6HOSP moved to RAAF Base Laverton to function as a separate unit
in May 1949.
The hospital provides level 3 care – theatre, pathology and
x-ray – to ADF personnel in the Melbourne area and beyond.
6HOSP also has an Air Transportable Hospital component, providing
medical support in the field, aeromedical evacuation and natural
disasters.
Owing to its long history and past achievements, the unit became
eligible to receive the Governor-General’s Banner on September
3, 1996.
The unit has provided staff for United Nations deployments for
service in the Gulf War conflict and medical support for Rwanda
and Bougainville.
Under the current Commanding Officer, Wing Commander Margaret
Hine AM, 6HOSP was deployed for the first time on active service
as the lead-in component for the UN Military Hospital East Timor
from August 16, 2001, to February 21, 2002.
