‘Extreme strain on our hospitals’: All options on the table as SA Health releases tender for makeshift ward

SA Health released a tender on expressing interest in transforming a “ready-made” facility into a makeshift hospital with 25 beds to ease ramping pressures across Adelaide.

The state government is looking at “all options” to reduce ramping pressures on Adelaide hospitals, including a makeshift 25-bed facility offering “end-to-end full service” for patients who are ready to be discharged.

In a temporary measure to build more beds for patients to boost the flow of people through metropolitan hospitals, SA Health released a tender for a “ready-made” facility, possibly within a hotel, that would accommodate patients who are ready for discharge.

The facility would primarily accept aged care patients awaiting permanent residency, but would also accept pre and post-operative patients, pregnant mothers, and mental health patients, all who are required to be 18 years or older.

Health Minister Chris Picton said on Friday that there were almost 300 people in Adelaide hospitals who were “medically ready for discharge”, with most of them elderly.

“Right now, there are a staggering 273 people in Adelaide metro hospitals who are medically-ready for discharge but are stuck due to a lack of aged care or community-based support,” he said.

Health Minister Chris Picton said there was “extreme pressure” on the state’s hospital system. Picture: Russell Millard Photography

“Astonishingly, nearly 80 per cent of those are older South Australians, most of whom are stuck waiting for federal aged care beds.

“This is putting extreme strain on our hospitals and is a nation-wide problem.

“Establishing a new healthcare service for low-acuity patients who don’t need to be in our hospitals will help free up hospital beds for higher acuity patients, while providing appropriate health support for those lower acuity patients.”

Mr Picton said he met with his federal counterpart Mark Butler this week, and Aged Care Minister Anika Wells to stress the “need for more action”.

The state government has committed to building 600 more new hospital beds, with 330 to open by the end of 2025, with Mr Picton saying something needed to be done in the interim.

While this work is underway and we continue to build more beds, we need to consider all options to create more capacity in our hospital system,” he said.

Ambulances parked at the Royal Adelaide Hospital. Picture: NewsWire / Kelly Barnes

SA Health released a tender on Monday stating that there was “a need for additional sub acute beds to reduce occupancy” in Adelaide hospitals.

“The SA public health system is currently over capacity,” the tender states.

“There are large volumes of patients who remain in hospital to receive maintenance care while awaiting an aged care placement and other services.

“This contributes to increasing delays in the transfer of care from the ambulance to the emergency department each day and a large number of patients waiting to be admitted to hospital wards from the emergency department.”

It comes after last month saw ambulance ramping across Adelaide hospitals reach a record 5539 hours in, with the state government attributing the results of patient flow through the hospital system.

Staffing at the facility would include nurses on-site 24/7, a qualified medical officer on-site for a minimum of 8-hours a day and a pharmacist ready and available to support the clinical team.

SA Health is aiming to have the facility operational by October 1, with the procurement specifying urgent category four and five patients “who require medical intervention/observation and are unable to discharge home”.

The tender also specified that the facility would need to be in metropolitan Adelaide and would operate for at least 12-months, with an option to extend beyond that, and that the facility would need to be “comfortable and private”.

“Each room should be equipped with amenities such as a bed, toilet, shower and TV,” the tender states.

“Strong infection control principles must be applied with thorough cleaning protocols.

“Between 20 and 25 beds must be available within two months.”