$2m for new ‘hospital avoidance hubs’ in bid to reduce ambulance ramping

Two specialised hubs will be built in Adelaide’s west and north so ambulances can be redirected away from busy hospitals, in a bid to ease ramping.

Two new hospital avoidance hubs will be funded in this week’s state budget as a measure to help reduce ambulance ramping rates.

Premier Peter Malinauskas announced $2.1m would be included in the budget for new hubs in the western and northern suburbs.

He made the announcement at the Hospital Avoidance and Supported Discharge Service, which is already in operation at Sefton Park.

“The hospital avoidance hub model has worked,” he said.

Mr Malinauskas said the model meant patients who don’t need to go to hospital have an alternative pathway to receive the care they need.

He said measures like the new hubs are being implemented alongside the addition of more hospital beds, and recruitment of more health workers.

Health Minister Chris Picton said the new hubs have been modelled on the Sefton Park service and the Complex and Restorative Care service at Daw Park.

“Ultimately, we’ll end up with a network of four of these centres across Adelaide that will provide that ability to avoid the emergency departments and to have an interim level of care – somewhere in between the high level of lifesaving care that you can get in the emergency department and what you might get in the general practice,” he said.

Health Minister Chris Picton said the new hubs will help get ambulance officers back onto the road faster.

He said that meant “ambulance officers can get back onto the road quicker” and improve their response times.

“This is a win for patients and a win for the healthcare system overall,” he said.

Patient Faye Sheehy said she has used the Sefton Park hub and has spent time ramped outside the Flinders Medical Centre on different occasions.

“I’ve been here and I’d like to come back here, it’s the best,” she said.

She said she suffers from arthritis and received the care she needed at the hub.

“I think it’s great and if we can get more of these it will be marvellous,” she said.

The opposition on Tuesday said the budget must include more incentives to retain and attract frontline health workers to SA.

“Our health system is buckling under enormous pressure, and we cannot afford to have a situation where a single doctor or nurse packs their bag to boost an interstate health system because Peter Malinauskas didn’t think they were worth extra money to stay here,” Opposition Leader David Speirs said.

“When it comes to offering healthcare incentives, South Australia is so far behind in this crucial race that Dan Andrews is about to overlap Peter Malinauskas because our Premier is too caught up smiling and waving to the crowd.”

He said Victoria was spending $201m on a range of incentive schemes.

Last month, the SA government launched a new campaign to lure health workers from interstate and overseas with financial incentives of up to $15,000.

Mr Malinauskas said he believed the state’s incentives were competitive with what’s on offer interstate and overseas.

“The reason why we can say that with a degree of confidence is because in 12 months, in fact, in less than 12 months, we’ve got a proven track record of being able to boost our health workforce,” he said.

The state government has repeatedly said the budget will focus on health and housing.

Originally published as $2m for new ‘hospital avoidance hubs’ in bid to reduce ambulance ramping