The minister said the process to rename the hospital could take "a few months" at a cost of almost $500,000 - mostly to change signage - to be funded by the Public Works Department. However, Lady Phyllis Dorothy Cilento's granddaughter, Giovanna Volpe-Cilento, said her family was insulted by the move. "After all the work she's done, 65 years of serving the women and children of Queensland, to be trashed," she said. Lady Phyllis Dorothy Cilento was the only woman to graduate from her medicine class in 1919. Credit:State Library of Queensland "You're not good enough to be the name of a hospital.

"[Queensland is] seen in the world as being backward, parochial and misogynistic and this just reinforces it. "It's a shame because we don't have a lot of women scientists." Ms Volpe-Cilento said director-general Michael Walsh was tasked with meeting with the family a few weeks ago, instead of the Health Minister. "He [Mr Miles] fobbed us off onto the director-general of health who is a public servant - what is he going to say? He doesn't make the decision," she said. "It was pretty clear to us that the decision had already been made."

Ms Volpe-Cilento left the door open to fighting the name change. "It ain't over until the fat lady sings," she said. Lady Cilento's son, David Cilento, said Queenslanders should be appalled. "There's no worse way of permanently damaging a person's reputation than publicly expunging her name from a building," he said. "The only reason people have their names ripped off buildings ... is usually because they're persons of ill repute or actual criminals - my mother was neither."

Mr Miles defended the family's meeting with the director-general, rather than himself, which he said was organised to discuss an alternative way to honour Lady Cilento. "They didn't want to talk about an alternative because that might imply that they did support it. I understand that, I accept that, but they were given ample opportunity to engage in the process," he said. "It is the government's sincere wish that we can reach an agreement with them about an appropriate alternative to properly recognise Lady Cilento and her contribution to Queensland." The family was contacted by a public servant on Thursday with the news the hospital's name would be changed. Mr Miles said a senior member of the Queensland Health director-general's team was the Cilento family's point of contact and the best person to be in touch with them.

"She had the relationship with David Cilento and I thought it appropriate that she was the one who contacted the family [to advise of the decision], particularly given that the director-general is currently overseas," he said. "I don't have that personal relationship with them." Opposition Leader Deb Frecklington said in a tweet the decision was wrong and she called the Palaszczuk government arrogant and out of touch. “Instead of trying to improve health services for our sickest kids, [Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk] is more fixated with trying to airbrush a pioneering female doctor from our history,” she said.

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said denied it was a political decision, said Mr Miles was happy to meet with the Cilento family and no money would come out of the Health budget for the change. "Of course, the government wants to recognise that name symbolically and happy to continue working with the family," she said. "There was extensive public consultation on this and I know the Health Minister took on board the advice coming from the Queensland Children's Foundation, but also the doctors involved." Medical staff association president Ben Whitehead welcomed the move to rename the hospital, arguing it would aid recognition of the hospital, including for families and international research. "There was confusion as to whether this hospital was a public or a private facility - we've had stories from families who at their time of need were greatly distressed by the thought they were being referred to a private hospital, that they might not be able to afford the care," he said.