Repat Hospital to get 20 beds by the end of the year for long stay patients
THE Repatriation General Hospital will open 20 beds in single rooms for long-stay patients who otherwise faced months stuck in the Flinders Medical Centre.
TWENTY new beds will open at the Repatriation General Hospital by the end of the year catering for long stay patients who otherwise face being stuck in Flinders Medical Centre for up to six months waiting care placements.
The majority are expected to be in the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) and officials say the move will have an enormous multiplier effect, as it will mean accommodating around ten time more acute care patients in FMC due to their shorter length of stay.
A further 20 beds originally scheduled to close by December will remain open within the VITA Precinct on the Repat site.
Premier Steven Marshall joined Health Minister Stephen Wade for the announcement on Tuesday, noting Labor closed the hospital under Transforming Health and was in the process of selling the site.
“The 40 beds will provide a high quality and much needed service for long stay patients with
complex needs,” Mr Marshall said.
“We have demonstrated our commitment to the reactivation of the Repat site by reopening the
hydrotherapy pool earlier this year and undertaking a robust and transparent public consultation on the future of the site.”
Mr Wade said hospitals are facing new challenges with an ageing population and need to ensure patients are treated in a facility appropriate for their needs.
“For patients who have finished their medical care, a big hospital is not an ideal place to recover or to wait for a National Disability Insurance Scheme package or other community supports,” he said.
“It is never going to be possible to restore the Repatriation General Hospital that the former Labor government closed but what we believe is possible and is on the verge of being delivered is a genuine health precinct.”
The new beds, in single rooms, will include care provided by a non-government organisation partner, with SA Health providing high-level clinical care.
As reported by The Advertiser, the community consultation report was also released showing strong support for day surgery, transition care, mental health care and brain and spinal injury rehabilitation services on the site.
This will guide the masterplan due by the end of the year – or now possibly in the New Year, with Mr Wade saying it is more important to get it right than early.