Dementia sufferers to get care in ‘cottage-style, home-like’ accommodation on the revitalised Repat site in Adelaide’s south
The revitalised Repatriation General Hospital will have 78 beds for dementia patients, in a deal that should also create 120 jobs.
SA News
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Dementia suffers will be given care in “cottage-style, home-like” accommodation on the revitalised Repatriation General Hospital site, as the State Government announces new details of a “partnership” to deliver the 78-bed facility.
Health and Wellbeing Minister Stephen Wade said a deal between the Government and “nationally respected” private provider HammondCare would create about 120 jobs.
Former SA chief psychiatrist Aaron Groves delivered the Oakden Report in 2017, shedding light on shocking conditions at the now-condemned government-run mental health facility. In that report, Dr Groves made particular positive mention of a care cottage run by HammondCare in Sydney and that it a offered “stark contrast” to the “long, unbroken and institutional” setting of Oakden.
Mr Wade yesterday said the Government was making a multimillion-dollar investment and “committed to providing the absolute best care for people with dementia”.
“The revitalised Repat site is a fitting location for a brand new, fit-for-purpose 78-bed residential service that will be tailored to the needs of the individual,” Mr Wade said.
“As part of the partnership between the State Government and HammondCare, we will ensure residents within the dementia care facility receive the care they need in a home-like environment.”
The site will feature two nine-bed specialist dementia care units focused on people with severe behaviours and psychological symptoms, as well as 60 beds within four 15-bed cottages for complex care.
Clinical oversight will be the responsibility of HammondCare, with specialist clinical support such as psychogeriatricians or geriatricians provided by SA Health.
First demolition works for HammondCare’s facilities are expected to begin on the Repat site in the first half of 2020.
HammondCare chief executive Stephen Judd said the organisation would provide “individually tailored dementia care” to residents.
“This is a wonderful opportunity to create a centre of dementia care excellence in SA, ensuring the state’s most vulnerable community members can live with dignity and quality of life,” Dr Judd said. “We provide specialist dementia care that meets the needs of the individual, whether that is clinical, social or spiritual.”
The new jobs include full-time, part-time and casual positions like specialist carers and advisers as well as administration and maintenance.
Separate to the HammondCare facilities, an 18-bed neurobehavioural unit is to be developed adjacent the dementia care Facility, with works starting in January.
Opposition health spokesman Chris Picton said the public needed reassurance about HammondCare’s involvement, following criticism during the aged care Royal Commission, and said the Government had not opened operating theatres at the Repat as promised.
