Open letter to the Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk

Queensland’s health system is stretched to the limit. Our state’s sickest children are being treated in hospital kitchens and public areas because of a shortage of beds.

Women are still consistently under-recognised in public life, despite the significant contribution they have made to our state. Only three percent of public buildings and monuments across the nation are named after women.

Despite these facts, Health Minister Steven Miles has made the decision to tear down the name of the Lady Cilento Children’s Hospital and rename it Queensland Children’s Hospital, along with five of the hospital schools.

We are shocked and appalled that the Premier would sanction an action that is a blatant waste of public money that will run into the millions of dollars – not $500,000 as claimed by the Health Minister – and discredit the name of one of Queensland’s first female doctors.

Instead of celebrating Lady Cilento, her name is now to be physically ripped down because a small group of doctors and politicians are seeking to assert their own agenda. Therefore we, the undersigned, are calling on the Premier of Queensland Annastacia Palaszczuk to reverse Health Minister Steven Miles’ decision. Lady Phyllis Cilento broke through every glass ceiling in the medical world and overcame intense misogyny as a female doctor. She was the only woman in her University of Adelaide School of Medicine 1918 graduating class and went on to work at hospitals in London, Paris and New York. She became a prominent member of the Queensland women's movement and highly influential in advocating for children's public health.

She was a beloved figure in Queensland as an obstetrician, paediatrician, author, journalist, columnist, ABC broadcaster and women's activist. Her early work helped save countless women and children’s lives in the tropics, including Malaysia and Papua New Guinea, by bringing modern medicine to local communities. Later, her pioneering work and advocacy for good nutrition, family planning and childcare had an immeasurable impact on the lives of thousands of Queenslanders.

She founded the Queensland Mothercraft Association, the Queensland branch of the Business and Professional Women's Club and was President of the Queensland Medical Women's Association. She has been honoured through various awards, including being named Queenslander of the Year and being bestowed a life membership to the Australian Medical Association. Her 65-year career spanned the tumultuous 20th Century and saw her embrace not only new medical breakthroughs but changing social norms.

Minister Miles’ decision is not a reflection of the opinions of the majority. A poll in The Courier-Mail found that 82 per cent of Queenslanders do not want the name to change. A poll conducted by the Nurses Professional Association of Queensland found that 85 per cent of nurses do not support a name change either. The Cilento family has been inundated with support from people who recognise Lady Cilento’s contributions and feel compelled to act against this decision.

Despite claiming that the decision came after extensive public consultation, damning proof has emerged that the Queensland Government had already begun taking steps to change the name of Lady Cilento Children’s Hospital long before officials consulted anyone. Documents lodged with ASIC show that the Queensland Government cancelled the hospital’s trading name in January 2018 – more than six months before Health Minister Steven Miles launched this so called ‘consultation process’. This evidence makes a mockery of the polling and focus groups and shows that they were nothing but a waste of time and money for taxpayers. Further to this, the Queensland Government surveys that claim to indicate public support for the decision have been found by independent experts to be completely flawed, if not utterly fabricated.

Considering the high cost of this rebrand, which will be charged to a health department already under significant pressure, there is no question that this is a scheme at odds with the best interests of patients, especially women and children. Further to this, it is a step backwards for gender equality in Queensland, and a disappointing indication of the Labor party’s views on the professional contributions of women.

We are asking Premier Palaszczuk to stand up for those whose voices are being ignored: sick children who need hospital beds and educated, skilled women around Australia who are trying to shatter the glass ceilings that they face in their own industries.

The rebranding of the Lady Cilento Hospital and its associated schools is heartless, sexist and completely illogical. It represents an extraordinary waste of money, and the Queensland Government turning its back on the values our nation was built on: egalitarianism and respect. The reputation of an inspirational woman is being dragged through the mud and hospital patients are suffering while the elite pursue cheap political gains. A small, privileged group of people will benefit from the name change, with little consideration for the carnage that they will leave in their wake.

As Queenslanders, we want better. We expect more from our politicians and we are standing together to fight for it. We hope that the Queensland Premier will join us, the undersigned, and more than seven thousand people who’ve put their names to our petitions.

Exposed: Queensland Government covers up Lady Cilento name change

The Lady Cilento Chidren's Hospital Queensland

Damning proof has emerged that the Queensland Government had taken steps to change the name of the Lady Cilento Children’s Hospital long before officials launched their so-called ‘public consultation’.

ASIC records show that the Queensland Government cancelled the hospital’s business name, “Lady Cilento Children’s Hospital” as well as the associated business name “Lady Cilento” in January 2018 – more than six months before it launched the public consultation process.

The hospital had been trading under the same name for three years which was renewed in September 2017 before its sudden cancellation in January 2018.

Supporters of the Cilento family uncovered the documents earlier this week, and the Cilento family say the files prove that public opinion had little to do with changing the hospital’s name.

“The Queensland Government had clearly made this decision before the consultation process even began. Is Queensland a democracy or a Banana Republic where the government does what it likes and runs over the public?

“This evidence makes a mockery of the polling and focus groups, and shows that they were nothing but a waste of taxpayers’ time and money in an attempt to justify tearing down a pioneering Australian woman's name from a public building, one of only 3 percent in this country.

“The aim of the entire process was to try to justify the decision after it had been made, rather than to legitimately consider the thoughts and opinions of Queenslanders,” said Giovanna Volpe-Cilento, the granddaughter of Lady Phyllis Cilento.

The Cilento family’s lawyer Michael Williams (Gilbert + Tobin) says it shows active steps were taken by the Queensland Government in breach of the agreement with the Cilento family to permit Lady Cilento’s name to be used on the hospital.

“There is no legitimate explanation for the cancellation of the business name at that time. It suggests that the Government jumped the gun and then tried to backfill the reasons for the change of name, a process which took months to complete. It also throws into doubt the legality of the hospital trading under its current name since the beginning of this year”

Documents in the possession of the Cilento family also bring into question claims by Queensland Health that all work required to change the hospital’s name would cost approximately $500,000.

These documents show that erecting the Lady Cilento sign on the hospital building in 2014 required the closure of Raymond Terrace for three days, six traffic controllers, a crane, two crane operators, three riggers, a swinging stage, spider boom and nine semi-trailers and drivers.

The cost to hire a crane alone is $200,000 per day.

Giovanna Volpe-Cilento says that as well as proving the Queensland Government’s claims about the reason for the name change are false, the documents prove that Queensland Health’s cost estimates are wildly inaccurate.

“The cost of just the crane hire for three days dramatically exceeds Queensland Health’s estimate for the cost of the entire job – not to mention the hire and labour costs for operating all of the other equipment.

“At best, this shows that Queensland Health has been highly irresponsible in their research. At worst, this proves that the Queensland Government has made another attempt to mislead the public.

“Not only has the Queensland Government misled the Cilento family - who have to fight to prevent their mother and grandmother’s name being torn down – but, also, every Queenslander who was under the impression this government would take their opinions into consideration before making a decision of this magnitude.”

Defending the Three Percent

Phyllis dressed for her
coming out ball in Adelaide

One luminous spring day, a century ago this week, a girl walked out from Woodspring, her old, stone Colonial house set amid shady trees in Adelaide's Unley Park. She jumped into her little motor car and headed over to the university for her graduation. There she sat with sparkling eyes in a fine grey jacket among a sea of men wearing black suits and starched collars – the only woman in the class of 1918 to graduate in medicine.

Little would this young doctor dream that she would become an obstetrician, paediatrician, author, journalist, columnist, ABC broadcaster and women's activist. Her early work helped save countless women and children’s lives in the Tropics, including Malaysia and New Guinea by bringing modern medicine to local communities. Later, her pioneering work and advocacy of good nutrition, family planning and child care improved Queenslanders’ lives immeasurably.

She went on to do postgraduate work at hospitals in London, Paris and New York and became a prominent member of the Queensland women's movement and highly influential in children's public health. She was ahead of her time in advocating natural childbirth, contraception, the legalisation of abortion and that fathers be present at the birth of their children. She founded the Queensland Mothercraft Association, the Queensland branch of the Business and Professional Women's Club and was President of the Queensland Medical Women's Association and her work was honoured many awards including Queenslander of the Year and Life Membership of the Australian Medical Association.

It was 65-year-long career that spanned a tumultuous 20th century that saw her embrace not only new medical breakthroughs but changing social mores. She loved and supported all of her six children too including her gay child, also a doctor, and her Aboriginal grandchild and his mother who lived amid her large extended family full of friends and patients in a rambling Edwardian house.

When the Queensland Government decided to honour Lady Cilento by naming the new children's hospital after her in 2013, it was a fitting tribute to a woman who contributed so much to public life. It was also one of only three per cent of public buildings in Australia named after women.

Lady Cilento had broken through every glass ceiling in the medical world and overcame all the sexism and misogyny she faced as a woman doctor ahead of her time. But today, her name is now to be physically torn down from the hospital by a small group of male doctors for their own vested interests - against the wishes of 82% of Queenslanders' who had voted in The Courier Mail along with 85% of nurses polled by the Nurses' Professional Association of Queensland.

These faceless doctors created unsubstantiated surveys of hospital staff to gain the government's approval and Queensland health set up a flawed poll that has been independently investigated showing the results are unrepresentative and invalid. Even though the Queensland Government say the change of name will cost $500,000 they have admitted they have done no research or formal costing. It could run into the millions of dollars of taxpayers money.

This cowardly cabal of male doctors decided it was not enough to take her name off the hospital but to try to destroy her legacy as well. Health Minister Steven Miles said at a meeting with our family that the doctors were behind a smear campaign. Miles said it was "most unfortunate" but he was not prepared to do anything about it.

These doctors have tried to manipulate the media with the sole aim to delegitimize and undermine Lady Cilento's honor in order to change the debate around the name hospital change - another example of the collusion of powerful men to negate and annihilate a woman from professional public life and history.

Removing Lady Cilento's name from the hospital will prove that Queensland – and the Labor Party – is a provincial, insular, conservative, short-sighted, petty and intolerant place that does not welcome or recognise women of talent and achievement. The Government should reverse the decison - put "public" in the name if necessary as this was the reason give for the name change - and show that it is not completely disconnected from the current worldwide movement in support of women being treated with respect professionally and their work properly recognised.

Tearing Down a Woman's Name

Lady Cilento bathing Diane Cilento

The $200,000+ a day cranes and crew haven’t been hired and the roads haven’t been closed yet to remove the name of Lady Cilento from the Lady Cilento Children's Hospital.

This ridiculous decision hasn't yet started to cost the taxpayers of Queensland the tens of millions of dollars it will take to remove her name from practically every surface, all uniforms, all the linens and every other conceivable object with the Lady Cilento Childrens Hospital name printed on it. It’s etched into every window for God’s sake. Will they replace 100,000 window panes that all have her name on them?

The $500,000 claimed by the Government is a lie. They admitted to us that no formal costing had been done. It’s an obscene waste of money from an inept minister. The reasons given for the change are paper thin and the polls used by the Government have been professionally investigated by polling experts and proved to be invalid. The decision is illegitimate on any of the grounds the Government has given.

We have been stunned by the overwhelming support to keep the name and put those tens of millions of dollars back into a hospital system that has a $594 million-dollar shortfall. This is a clarion call.

Every member of the family is constantly meeting people in Queensland whose lives were changed or helped by Lady Cilento or they are one of the thousands she delivered. The homes and diets of generations of families were based on her wisdom and practical knowledge. There is enormous affection and gratitude toward her, she saved lives and gave hope.

She set up clinics for women and children who had nothing to support them apart from a backward and patriarchal medical fraternity.

The same medical fraternity (AMA - Australian Medical Association) that insisted homosexuality was a psychological disease until 1974 and had fried peoples brains and ruined their lives because of it.

She didn’t. Her own daughter was gay and she didn’t bat an eyelid. She loved and accepted her daughter Ruth and her partner and never made an issue of it. They were an accepted part of the family.

She was always ahead of her time right from her graduation from Medical School in 1918 as the only woman in her class. Throughout her life she broke glass ceilings and challenged stereotypes. She had a deep and intuitive understanding of health and the needs of ordinary women and children. Her ground-breaking work on vitamins was ridiculed and resisted by the medical establishment at the time and now vitamins are standard practice and routinely accepted. She has an extraordinary strike rate and she never cared what the narrow-minded orthodox doctors around her thought.

This same fraternity now seeks to destroy her legacy at vast cost to ordinary people and at the expense of hospital equipment, services and staff who save children's lives.

They are tearing down a woman's name literally and brutally. She is an icon and one of the great female trailblazers of Australia.

This is an International disgrace.