About Us

The Royal Victorian Eye and Ear Hospital is Australia’s only specialist eye, ear, nose and throat hospital. We have been here for Victorians, caring for their senses and improving their quality of life for over 150 years.

The hospital operates from a central hub in East Melbourne and also provides support for service delivery in other outpatient and community settings in Victoria and via telemedicine facilities. As the largest public provider of ophthalmology and ENT services in Victoria we deliver more than half of Victoria’s public eye surgery and all of Victoria’s public cochlear implants. We see around 250,000 patients a year.

The Eye and Ear has over 50 different outpatient clinics for the diagnosis, monitoring and treatment of vision and hearing loss and provides a 24 hour Emergency Department for patients requiring urgent care and treatment for their eyes, ears, nose or throat.

Since its beginnings in 1863, when the hospital was an infirmary treating diseases of the eye and ear amongst Melbourne’s poor, the hospital has grown in size and reputation. As a world leader in eye, ear, nose and throat services, the hospital is now at the cutting edge of research and teaching. This is supported through close association with the University of Melbourne Departments of Ophthalmology and Otolaryngology, the Centre for Eye Research Australia, the Hearing CRC and the Bionics Institute.

The hospital is currently undergoing a major redevelopment to create a modern internal structure and improve access for patients, visitors and staff.