ACH Group plans for a $200m development at Daw Park Repat Hospital site still on hold

WHILE the Liberals talk about reopening the Repat, the $200m ACH Group redevelopment plan for the site remains in limbo pending government approval.

The old Repatriation General Hospital sign.

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THE future of the Repatriation General Hospital site remains in limbo two months after the proposed masterplan went to Health Minister Peter Malinauskas for approval.

The ACH Group, which bought the site for an undisclosed sum, has demanded the right to onsell parcels of the land as pivotal to its $200 million redevelopment plan.

ACH Group chief executive Ray Creen told a parliamentary committee the proposal was contingent on the minister approving rezoning plans so ACH could onsell land to other “operators or developers’”.

“The masterplan is based on rezoning, and is dependent on rezoning – so if rezoning doesn’t occur we most likely would have to renegotiate and discuss the masterplan and what can and cannot be divided,” Mr Creen said shortly before sending the masterplan to the government in November.

ACH officials confirmed Mr Malinauskas has not yet approved the plan as SA Health continues to assess it.

ACH Group has a seven-year plan to turn the site into a village with various levels of aged care accommodation, student and affordable housing, palliative care, healthcare centres, education and research hubs, and retail outlets.

However, this could change if the Liberal Party wins government, after it announced a plan to retain part of the site and reopen operating theatres for colonoscopies, urology and orthopedics. This may require compulsorily acquiring land.

Former nurse manager at the Repat, Christine Doerr, welcomed moves to use the Repat’s operating theatres.

She said the waiting list for joint replacements in the south was now almost 900 compared to less than 500 two years ago.

“Since the Repat closed the formerly robust program for management of patients on this waiting list has fragmented and the five staff who used to manage it have dwindled to 1.5,” she said.

“Patients who will be overdue do not improve or go away — they become increasingly dependent on support services and become less productive.

“You’ve got five operating theatres at the Repat — it’s health economics 101.”

Health Minister Peter Malinauskas said: “The masterplan by not-for-profit ACH for the renewal of the Repat will include a legally binding agreement that ensures any future use of the site complies with strict principles in perpetuity.

“Labor is renewing the Repat site so it can be used for health and aged care services, and be enjoyed by the entire community.”