Bankstown Lidcombe Hospital

{{See also|Lidcombe Hospital Precinct}}

In 1885, the Government of New South Wales planned to open a youth detention centre for boys on land in Rookwood. In 1892, it was instead opened as Rookwood Asylum for the Aged and Infirm, housing elderly and impoverished men. Initially, these men applied to live at the asylum, where they were given cheap meals and board, and contributed to its upkeep. By 1913, the asylum changed its status from a public charity to a public health institution, reflecting that almost half of its inhabitants were admitted on medical grounds. In 1927, the site was renamed Lidcombe State Hospital and Home; it ceased accepting new asylum inmates in the 1930s.

In the 1950s and '60s, the hospital underwent a series of small renovations, adding new recreation, cooking and dining facilities, and a church. In 1966, it began admitting women and was renamed Lidcombe Hospital. The site opened a community day hospital in 1967, before quickly expanding and becoming a teaching hospital for the University of Sydney. Specialising in advanced geriatric nursing training, it continued to increase its training and research facilities throughout the 1970s and '80s.

Plans for a district hospital in Bankstown had been considered as early as 1914, though the breakout of World War I and the effects of the Great Depression in Australia delayed construction considerably. The Bankstown District Hospital Movement began fundraising again in 1936, initially raising £13,000 to purchase land. In 1938, the Governor of New South Wales approved the hospital's development and a hospital board was elected. Development was again interrupted—this time by World War II—but the hospital board and the Bankstown and Canterbury Labor Party campaigned for a separate local outpatient clinic while the development of the district hospital was still ongoing. In May 1944, the Bankstown Outpatients Department opened with a limited service, provided by one or two nurses, with occasional support from a visiting doctor.{{Cite web |title=Bankstown-Lidcombe Hospital - History |url=https://www.swslhd.health.nsw.gov.au/bankstown/history.html |access-date=2025-03-04 |website=www.swslhd.health.nsw.gov.au}}

Following several land purchases and false starts, the Bankstown District Hospital first opened on 7 September 1957 on an eight-acre site known as Gloriana Estate. The outpatients clinic moved to this site in 1960. By 1963, the hospital added an emergency department. In May 1966, the hospital was renamed Bankstown Hospital, and a new two-storey building was developed, as well as new operating theatres. That same year, the Bankstown Hospital became a teaching hospital for the University of New South Wales. In 1976, the hospital opened a new administration building and the Banks House Psychiatric Unit. In 1980, the hospital also opened an intensive care unit, a cardiac care unit, and a chapel.{{cite web |title=Bankstown District Hospital (1957-1966) Bankstown Hospital (1966-1992) Bankstown-Lidcombe Hospital (1992- )|url=https://search.records.nsw.gov.au/primo-explore/fulldisplay/ORGANISATIONS1006259/61SRA |work=Museums of History New South Wales |access-date=4 March 2025}}

From 5 March 1992, Bankstown Hospital and Lidcombe Hospital were merged, gradually transferring the latter's services to the Bankstown site. The new Bankstown Lidcombe Hospital reopened on 26 October 1996 with 454 beds.

In July 2016, Liberal Party minister Jillian Skinner tasked the Ministry of Health to open an investigation into the hospital after a newborn baby boy died and a baby girl suffered brain damage{{cite news |last1=Aubusson |first1=Kate |title=Investigation Into Refugee Hospital Death: Bankstown-Lidcombe Hospital |url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/1807050509 |id={{ProQuest|1807050509}}|access-date=21 February 2025 |work=Sydney Morning Herald |publisher=Fairfax Digital |date=28 July 2016}} after they were both exposed to nitrous oxide gas that had mistakenly been piped through an oxygen outlet. It was found that a neonatal resuscitation outlet in one operating room had been installed incorrectly.{{cite news |last1=Clennell |first1=Andrew |title=Baby Dies, Another Left Brain Damaged in Oxygen Mix-up at Bankstown-Lidcombe Hospital |url=https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/nsw/baby-dies-another-brain-damaged-in-oxygen-mixup-at-bankstownlidcombe-hospital/news-story/b8e33f8938eb9f6d194ea73f3cf232d6 |access-date=21 February 2025 |work=The Daily Telegraph |location=Sydney|date=25 July 2016}} Labor Party health spokesman Walt Secord insisted on Skinner authorising an independent investigation,{{cite news |last1= |first1= |title=Baby Dies at Bankstown-Lidcombe Hospital After Oxygen Mix-up in Neo-natal Unit |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-07-25/baby-dies-at-bankstown-lidcombe-hospital-after-oxygen-mix-up/7659552|id=|access-date=6 March 2025 |work=ABC Premium News |publisher=Australian Broadcasting Corporation |date=25 July 2016}} while fellow legislator Luke Foley called for her resignation as Health Minister after it was revealed that Skinner attended the Helpmann Awards ceremonies soon after news reports about the baby boy's death in the hospital became known.{{cite news|last1=Godfrey |first1=Miles|last2=Houghton |first2=Jack|last3=Van den Broeke |first3=Leigh |title=Family of Baby Who Died After Oxygen Mix-up at Bankstown-Lidcombe Hospital Left Devastated |url=https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/nsw/family-of-baby-who-died-after-oxygen-mixup-at-bankstownlidcombe-hospital-left-devastated/news-story/6b0902f0647dba098eea0b8e8f223a13 |access-date=21 February 2025 |work=The Daily Telegraph |location=Sydney|date=26 July 2016}}

Gas supplier BOC agreed to co-operate fully with any investigation while conducting their own inquiry into the mishap. Around the same time, a 46-year-old Iraqi-born refugee who had been a patient at the hospital committed suicide in Banks House, the hospital's psychiatric ward.{{cite news |last1=Van den Broeke |first1=Leigh |title=Bankstown-Lidcombe Hospital, Where Baby Died After Oxygen Error, Site of Woman's Death |url=https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/nsw/bankstown-hospital-where-baby-died-after-oxygen-error-site-of-womans-death/news-story/bf2150721ac5fdbd3e9e86212d4a766a |access-date=21 February 2025 |work=The Daily Telegraph |location=Sydney|date=27 July 2016}} Minister for mental health Pru Goward announced that there would be an investigation into the circumstances of the woman's death at the hospital, although no foul play was suspected in the case.

It was later determined that renovations of the ward in 1996 had led to a nitrous oxide pipe being mislabeled, which could have been corrected through proper testing. In April 2020, Judge Wendy Strathdee exonerated BOC of any wrongdoing, while finding installation contractor Christopher Turner guilty of faking testing records, in which he falsely declared that the oxygen pipe carried "100 per cent" oxygen.{{cite news |last1=McKinnell |first1=Jamie |title=BOC Limited Found Not Responsible for Contractor's Fatal Gas Mix-up at Bankstown-Lidcombe Hospital|url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-04-30/boc-limited-not-responsible-for-sydney-hospital-gas-mix-up/12202292 |id=|access-date=6 March 2025 |work=ABC Premium News |publisher=Australian Broadcasting Corporation |date=30 April 2020}}

File:Bankstown Lidcombe Hospital.jpg

On 12 February 2025, a video chat between Israeli influencer Max Veifer and two nurses led to widespread criticism and a police investigation, after the nurses said they would kill Israeli patients and refuse to treat them.{{cite news|last=Hall|first=Amy|date=12 February 2025|title='Vile, Disgusting': Sydney Nurses Stood Down Amid Investigation Into Israeli Patient Comments|url=https://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/vile-disgusting-sydney-nurses-stood-down-amid-investigation-into-israeli-patient-comments/pb90p35y2|work=SBS News|access-date=13 February 2025}}{{Cite news |date=2025-02-12 |title='Vile, disgusting, and appalling': Australian nurses fired over viral video vowing to kill Israeli patients |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/rest-of-world/vile-disgusting-and-appalling-australian-nurses-fired-over-viral-video-vowing-to-kill-israeli-patients/articleshow/118167338.cms |access-date=2025-02-21 |work=The Times of India |issn=0971-8257}} After learning Veifer was Israeli, the male nurse said he would go to Hell. The female nurse said he would face a "horrible death" for being in the Israel Defence Force, and later said she would refuse to treat Israeli patients and would kill them. The male nurse said he had already killed several Israeli patients.{{Cite news |last1=May |first1=Natasha |last2=reporter |first2=Natasha May Health |date=2025-02-12 |title=Sydney nurses stood down after claiming they would kill Israeli patients in social media video |url=https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2025/feb/12/sydney-nsw-health-nurses-stood-down-alleged-antisemitic-video-threats-israel-bankstown-hospital-ntwnfb |access-date=2025-02-20 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}{{cite news|author=Simon Atkinson|date=13 February 2025|title=Australian nurses suspended over 'vile' antisemitic video|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c17ejwnywyno |work=BBC News|access-date=18 February 2025}}

The nurses had their licences suspended across Australia.{{Cite web |date=2025-02-14 |title=Australian nurses lose ability to practice after threatening to kill Israelis |url=https://www.jpost.com/diaspora/article-842135 |access-date=2025-02-20 |website=The Jerusalem Post {{!}} JPost.com |language=en}}{{Cite web |date=2025-02-13 |title=Nurses cop national ban over anti-Israel 'kill' rant |url=https://au.news.yahoo.com/police-ramp-probe-sickening-nurses-163000541.html |access-date=2025-02-20 |website=Yahoo News |language=en-AU}}{{cite news|date=13 February 2025|title=Australian police probe video of nurses bragging about killing Israelis|url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/2/13/australian-police-probe-video-of-nurses-bragging-about-killing-israelis|work=Al Jazeera|access-date=19 February 2025}} The male nurse said the incident had been "just a joke" and was "a misunderstanding".{{cite news |last1=Cunco |first1=Clementime |last2=Crittenden |first2=Madeline |last3=Karp |first3=Charlotte |date=12 February 2025 |title=Sydney nurses Rashad Nadir and Sarah Abu Lebdeh stood down over vile video |url=https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/nsw/sydney-nurses-rashad-nadir-and-sarah-abu-lebdeh-stood-down-over-vile-video/news-story/9c769cd5a5fb4cd3f1990b583a51614f |access-date=13 February 2025 |work=The Daily Telegraph}} His solicitor said the nurse had sent an apology to Veifer and the Jewish community "as a whole", and was "trying to make amends". After an internal investigation, the hospital said there was no evidence of "adverse outcomes" for patients.

NSW Police officers have conducted investigations into the incident and are working with Veifer to present a witness statement admissible in the Australian court, since the video was made in Israel.{{cite news|author= Rod McGuirk|date=13 February 2025|title=Australian hospital examines patient records after nurse claims to have killed Israelis|url=https://apnews.com/article/australia-bankstown-hospital-nurses-kill-israelis-4600438279d0a1e5b75f9a31a3108ff3|work=The Associated Press|access-date=18 February 2025}}{{cite news|first= Natasha |last=Squarey |date=16 February 2025|title=Twist in the investigation of NSW nurse who went on anti-Israeli rant as morphine vial allegedly found in Bankstown Hospital locker|url=https://7news.com.au/news/twist-in-the-investigation-of-nsw-nurses-who-went-on-anti-israeli-rant-as-morphine-vial-allegedly-found-in-bankstown-hospital-locker-c-17731750|work=7 News|access-date=18 February 2025}}{{cite news |author=Rafqa Touma and Emily Wind |date=15 February 2025 |title=Police raid home of Sydney nurse taken to hospital after allegedly threatening Israeli patients on video |url=https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2025/feb/14/sydney-nurses-alleged-antisemitic-threats-full-video-released-ntwnfb |work=The Guardian|access-date=18 February 2025}} On 26 February, the female nurse was charged with three federal offences: threatening violence, using a carriage service to threaten to kill, and using a carriage service to menace, harass or offend.{{Cite web |date=26 February 2025 |title=Sydney nurse who allegedly threatened to kill Israeli patients in viral video charged |url=https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2025/feb/26/sydney-nurse-sarah-abu-lebdeh-allegedly-threatened-to-kill-israeli-patients-video-charged-ntwnfb |access-date=10 March 2025 |website=The Guardian}}{{cite news |last1=Wu |first1=David |title=Bankstown nurse Sarah Abu Lebdeh, 26, charged over antisemitic video allegedly threatening harm or to 'kill' Israeli patients |url=https://www.skynews.com.au/australia-news/crime/bankstown-hospital-nurse-sarah-abu-lebdeh-26-charged-over-antisemitic-video-allegedly-threatening-to-harm-or-kill-israeli-patients/news-story/3fd93ea4a920c3a8a9e24188edf7cf50 |access-date=26 February 2025 |work=Sky News Australia |date=26 February 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250226225857/https://www.skynews.com.au/australia-news/crime/bankstown-hospital-nurse-sarah-abu-lebdeh-26-charged-over-antisemitic-video-allegedly-threatening-to-harm-or-kill-israeli-patients/news-story/3fd93ea4a920c3a8a9e24188edf7cf50 |archive-date=26 February 2025}} She was also banned from social media and from leaving Australia.{{cite news |last1=Turnbull|first1=Tiffany|title=Nurse charged over video that boasted about harming Israeli patients |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c0l1z6rgrnyo |access-date=27 February 2025 |work=BBC News|date=26 February 2025}}{{cite news|title='Strict bail conditions' female nurse must now follow after allegedly threatening to kill Jewish patients |url=https://www.news.com.au/national/nsw-act/police-charge-sydney-nurse-over-sickening-antisemitic-rant/news-story/0fac8063705d1349f1a09b58f4b6e525 |access-date=27 February 2025 |work=news.com.au|date=26 February 2025}} On 5 March, the male nurse was charged with two offences: using a carriage service to menace, harass or cause offence, and possession of a prohibited drug (morphine).{{cite news|title=Second nurse charged over alleged antisemitic hospital video |url=https://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/second-man-charged-over-alleged-antisemitic-hopsital-video/d2dil275v|access-date= 5 March 2025 |publisher=SBS News|date=5 March 2025}} On 18 March, the lawyer for the male nurse sought to exclude Veifer's video as evidence, claiming his client had been recorded without his knowledge.{{cite news |title=Sydney nurse charged over alleged threats to Israeli patients to argue video can't be used in evidence |url=https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2025/mar/19/sydney-nurse-charged-over-alleged-threats-to-israeli-patients-to-argue-video-cant-be-used-in-evidence-ntwnfb |access-date=19 April 2025 |work=The Guardian |date=18 March 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250408055835/https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2025/mar/19/sydney-nurse-charged-over-alleged-threats-to-israeli-patients-to-argue-video-cant-be-used-in-evidence-ntwnfb |archive-date=8 April 2025 |url-status=live}}

The incident was widely condemned as antisemitic, including by Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, NSW Premier Chris Minns, NSW Health Minister Ryan Park, NSW Police Commissioner Karen Webb, and other healthcare workers.{{cite news|date=18 February 2025|title='No evidence' NSW Health patients adversely affected by nurses who threatened Israeli patients, police investigation awaits 'critical' recording|url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-02-13/nsw-health-evidence-nurses-israeli-patients-police-investigation/104930406|work=ABC News|access-date=18 February 2025}}{{cite news |last=Boscaini| first=Joshua |date=13 February 2025 |title=Health workers condemn video showing NSW Health nurses bragging about killing Israeli patients |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-02-13/health-workers-condemn-nsw-health-nurse-video/104927954 |work=ABC News |access-date=13 February 2025}} Liberal MP Julian Leeser said Australia's Jewish community was "living in fear" of rising antisemitism,{{Cite web |last=Groch |first=Josefine Ganko, Sherryn |date=2025-02-12 |title=As it happened: Government steps in to save Rex Airlines; PM, Jewish leaders condemn health workers' antisemitic video |url=https://www.watoday.com.au/national/australia-news-live-banks-told-to-ignore-hecs-when-weighing-up-home-loans-israel-threatens-to-restart-war-in-gaza-if-hamas-doesn-t-release-hostages-20250212-p5lbdy.html?post=p58710 |access-date=2025-02-21 |website=WAtoday |language=en}} and Alex Ryvchin of the Executive Council of Australian Jewry said the video was "utterly sickening to watch".{{cite news |author=Najma Sambul |date=18 February 2025 |title=Peak Muslim groups sign letter condemning response to Sydney nurses as 'hypocrisy' |url=https://www.news.com.au/national/politics/israeli-influencer-max-veifer-to-speak-one-week-after-vile-video-of-nsw-nurses-antisemitic-rant/news-story/c19e7a2c0ccedc7e0fe915f5a631d953 |access-date=18 February 2025 |work=ABC News Australia}}

The New South Wales Nurses and Midwives' Association held a demonstration outside NSW parliament to condemn "all forms of racism, bigotry and hatred, including acts of antisemitism and Islamophobia".{{Cite web |date=2025-02-13 |title=NSW nurses condemn 'abohorrent' alleged hate video |url=https://www.9news.com.au/national/new-south-wales-nurses-rally-against-hate-speech-after-sydney-nurses-stood-down-over-alleged-antisemitic-video/d279a5a9-13c6-4db0-b686-46759f20de86 |access-date=2025-02-20 |website=www.9news.com.au}} In the aftermath of the incident, another nurse at Bankstown Hospital said she had previously raised concerns about antisemitism at the hospital after the 7 October 2023 Hamas-led attack on Israel.{{cite news |last1=Brook |first1=Benedict |last2=Molloy |first2=Shannon |last3=Blair |first3=Alex |last4=Devlin |first4=Peter |date=14 February 2025 |title=NSW nurse claims she 'wrote an open letter' about alleged anti-Semitism after October 7 attacks |url=https://www.news.com.au/national/nsw-act/news/set-up-familys-huge-claim-about-sydney-nurse-caught-in-vile-antisemitic-rant/news-story/7891b8dd0a5e102609542773807292c8 |access-date=20 February 2025 |work=News.com.au}}

A coalition of Islamic organizations, including Hizb Ut-Tahrir and The Muslim Vote, released a joint statement that said media outlets and political leaders had provided "active diplomatic and journalistic cover for ongoing crimes by the Zionists" and described the public response as "selective outrage" and "weaponization of antisemitism".{{Cite news |last1=Rachwani |first1=Mostafa |last2=reporter |first2=Mostafa Rachwani Community affairs |date=2025-02-17 |title=Prominent Muslim groups claim reaction to Sydney nurses video is 'selective outrage' |url=https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2025/feb/17/muslim-groups-sydney-nurses-antisemitism-video-bankstown-hospital-ntwnfb |access-date=2025-02-20 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}} Western Australian Senator Fatima Payman described the nurses' remarks as "terrible", but said they were being treated as though they had "committed the absolute worst crime imaginable".{{cite news|date=18 February 2025|title=Nurse 'sorry' and 'more than happy' to cooperate with police after alleged antisemitic video|url=https://www.9news.com.au/national/sydney-bankstown-nurses-alleged-antisemitic-video/850226e5-d584-4d54-ad3a-f54f16fec3ed|work=Nine News|access-date=18 February 2025}}

• List of hospitals in Australia
• Antisemitism in health care

{{Reflist}}

• [https://www.swslhd.health.nsw.gov.au/ South Western Sydney Local Health District website]

{{City of Canterbury-Bankstown topics|state=collapsed}}

{{Authority control}}

Category:1996 establishments in Australia

Category:Bankstown, New South Wales

Category:Hospital buildings completed in 1996

Category:Hospitals established in 1996

Category:Hospitals in Sydney