Trial is sending patients from RAH to the Riviera Hotel across the road on North Tce
CAREFULLY selected patients at the $2.4 billion, 800-bed Royal Adelaide Hospital will be housed across North Tce at the Adelaide Riviera Hotel, as the beleaguered health system looks for ways to free up capacity.
CAREFULLY selected patients at the $2.4 billion, 800-bed Royal Adelaide Hospital will be housed across North Tce at the Adelaide Riviera Hotel, as the beleaguered health system looks for ways to free up capacity.
A month-long trial has started which will see eligible patients, who would otherwise stay at the hospital, sent across the street to the hotel.
However, patients need to meet strict criteria to go from the motel-style, single room inpatient accommodation at the RAH to the genuine hotel accommodation over the road.
WHERE IS THE RIVIERA
There will be no cost to the patients and the stay will be restricted to a maximum of three nights, in one of two rooms being used in the trial.
Patients must be from outside Adelaide, struggling financially and able to stay independently to qualify.
Helen Chalmers, chief operating officer of the Central Adelaide Local Health Network which covers the RAH, said the trial started Tuesday.
“We are partnering with Adelaide Riviera Hotel for a one-month trial of accommodation to support patients who do not require inpatient care from the Royal Adelaide Hospital,” Ms Chalmers said in a staff memo obtained by The Advertiser.
“This will provide a safe and comfortable alternative to those who may have otherwise required a night in a hospital bed for a variety of reasons.
“As always, I encourage any staff member who has an idea about how we can improve capacity and access within our health network to email.”
The hotel hospital will be available only to patients who:
MEET financial hardship criteria;
DO not live in metropolitan Adelaide;
HAVE been discharged, are pre-admission or are an outpatient;
NEED accommodation for a short time close to the RAH;
ARE suitable to stay independently in a hotel.
The RAH continues to struggle with demand on its Emergency Department, partly because of a lack of ward beds or suitable accommodation to transfer patients to.
At 4pm on Wednesday, 20 of the 62 people in the ED had been treated and were waiting for ward beds.
On Wednesday night, SA Health confirmed details of the hotel arrangement to The Advertiser, including that it would be at no cost to patients.
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