Sister (Sr) Patrick King, Religious Sister of Charity (RSC), was born in Ireland and moved to Australia with her brother at the age of eighteen. She began her training as a nurse at St Vincent’s Hospital in Sydney and having observed the care, nursing and compassion of the Sisters of Charity, Sr Patrick was inspired and entered the Sisters of Charity in 1904 after finishing her nursing training.
As healthcare began to change in Australia in the early 1900’s, the Sisters of Charity made a courageous decision to enter into private healthcare. As Mother M. Francis McGuigan who was Superior General at the time had said, "a private hospital would help us to continue to provide compassionate care to the sick, poor and vulnerable and any surplus raised would help fund the mission of the Public Hospital", which received no government funding at that time. The first St Vincent’s Private Hospital in Sydney was opened in 1909, with Sr Patrick King appointed as the first Sister Administrator, a role she remained in until 1934. During her leadership, the hospital became recognised as a training hospital and with a high standard of excellence in compassionate care, especially during the outbreak of the Spanish Flu in 1919.
Sr Patrick King died on the 30 September 1936.
St Vincent’s Private Hospital Sydney proudly continues the tradition to be a world class tertiary training hospital for many healthcare roles. Our hospital honours Sr Patrick King for her vision, courage and setting the foundation in education and has named the Main Hospital Building of the St Vincent’s Private Hospital in her honour.
The Story of Sr Patrick King RSC is provided through the courtesy of the Archives of the Congregation of the Sisters of Charity of Australia and St Vincent’s Hospital Sydney.
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