Calvary Health Care

Calvary Mater Newcastle, a public hospital in Newcastle, NSW, is the major cancer care centre for the Hunter New England Local Health District, delivering more than 460,000 occasions of outpatient services and in excess of 17,000 inpatient treatments per year.

Calvary Mater Newcastle provides an emergency department open 24 hours seven days a week, an intensive care unit, extensive palliative care services including the Mercy Hospice. Hunter New England Local Health District’s Mater Mental Health Centre and Breastscreen NSW, are also located on the Mater campus.

Staffed by leading researchers in oncology, toxicology, psychiatry and palliative care, Calvary Mater Newcastle is recognised as a leading research centre. It is also the main centre for cancer clinical trials in the Hunter region, with local, national and international research collaborations taking place.

Our patients enjoy a redeveloped modern, light and airy environment, surrounded by well-maintained gardens.

Our range of medical and surgical services includes internal medicine, and alcohol and drug services. Our surgery division provides services in a pre-procedures clinic, operating theatres, a day surgery unit and recovery room.

The Mater was founded in 1921 by the Sisters of Mercy (Singleton) who handed on ownership and operation of the hospital to the Little Company of Mary Health Care in 2006.

Calvary Mater Newcastle provides public hospital services under a Service Level Agreement with the Local Health District, and is fully accredited by the Australian Council on Health Care Standards. Accreditation is one way we assure the community that Calvary Mater Newcastle meets the high standards of safety and quality set for health care providers and the level of care and service that consumers can expect from our services.

To find out more about our services and achievements, please refer to our Review of Operations reports.

In April 2023, Calvary Mater Newcastle launched the inaugural Innovate Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP), as part of our reconciliation journey.

Through the pillars of our RAP – Relationships, Respect, Opportunities and Governance – we are focused on developing and strengthening relationships with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, engaging staff and stakeholders in reconciliation, and developing and piloting innovative strategies to empower Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

Our RAP provides us with a framework which will guide and lead us towards reconciliation through the Spirit of Calvary, ‘Being for Others’. We recognise that it is not one act but a journey that requires ongoing commitment.

The year 1921 marked the beginning of the Newcastle Mater Misericordiae Hospital and the provision of health care by the Sisters of Mercy, (Singleton) for the people of Newcastle.

The hospital first operated from a single building known as Enmore Hall situated on the Mater’s current site.

In 2006, it was agreed that control of the Newcastle Mater Misericordiae Hospital would be transferred from the Sisters of Mercy (Singleton) to the Sisters of the Little Company of Mary and that the hospital would become part of Little Company of Mary Health Care.

On 1 July 2007, the hospital changed its name from Newcastle Mater Misericordiae Hospital to Calvary Mater Newcastle.