Deals to keep old private hospitals on standby for potential COVID-19 second wave

A six-month deal to keep a hospital on standby in case of a COVID-19 second wave was set to expire next week – but will be renewed until the end of the year.

• Govt to spend “what it needs” to beat COVID

Deals to keep two former private hospitals on standby in the event of a COVID surge have been extended until the end of the year, despite South Australia again recording no new cases on Thursday and having no active cases.

A six-month, $2.6m deal for the former Wakefield Street hospital expires on Tuesday but will be extended until December.

It allows for 130 beds to care for relatively mild COVID-19 patients but the hospital has not had to care for any patients.

A second deal with the ECH College Grove site at Walkerville – involving 58 beds for non-COVID patients to free up hospital space – will be extended until January.

Health and Wellbeing Minister Stephen Wade said boosting hospital capacity was a key part of the plan to deal with the pandemic.

“South Australians have done a great job so far but, as we have seen in Victoria, the risk of an outbreak is ever-present and we must be prepared to respond,” Mr Wade said.

“We hope that our dedicated facilities will never need to be used but they remain on standby as part of our swift response if the situation escalates in our state.”

Opposition health spokesman Chris Picton welcomed the move but questioned why it was only for three months when the government was seeking to extend its emergency powers for six months.

“With a vaccine still some time away, we encourage the State Government to continue to keep in place measures to protect our state in case of a second wave,” Mr Picton said.

“Our hospitals have been overwhelmed over the past two months with ramping rising and a patient stuck for 110 hours.

“Our hospitals are not coping as it is, and that’s why additional capacity is so necessary for the long term, not just the short term.”