Homeless beds plan as elective cancellations soar amid code yellow

Hundreds of elective surgeries have been cancelled as SA Health’s code yellow drags on for two months with no end in sight.

SA Health has cancelled more than 820 elective surgeries in the past two months, with no end in sight for its internal code yellow emergency.

The alert was declared on May 30 amid ramping and chronically full EDs in a bid to free up ward beds. But ramping remains a serious problem and hospital EDs remain regularly clogged.

Dozens of non-urgent elective surgeries are being postponed each weekday – 90 were cancelled on Monday – but officials say only a fraction are due to the code yellow.

There are now 21,903 patients listed as ready for elective surgery, and 4449 listed as overdue.

The effort to free up ED space remains a work in progress – on Tuesday at 8am the $2.7bn Royal Adelaide Hospital ED was full, with clinicians treating 69 people in its 69 capacity ED.

However, 53 of these patients were waiting to be moved to a suitable ward bed including four waiting more than 24 hours, and 11 waiting 12 to 24 hours.

The state government on Tuesday announced another effort to free up ward beds with the Salvation Army to operate 20 beds at Whitmore Square for patients ready for discharge but regarded as homeless.

The patients from the RAH or Queen Elizabeth Hospital will be able to stay in the accommodation for up to six months, under strict criteria, under the $21.9m partnership over nine years.

Royal Adelaide Hospital patients regarded as homeless are getting a new discharge accommodation option.

Patients from the Queen Elizabeth Hospital will also be able to stay in the accommodation for up to six months. Picture: NCA NewsWire

The first of the beds will be in operation by the end of the year, with staff helping residents find longer-term accommodation options.

Residents will have their own bedrooms with access to shared kitchen, dining, lounge and laundry facilities and landscaped outdoor areas. There is an on-site art studio and a gym, both overseen by professional instructors.

Health Minister Chris Picton said having a safe place to go on discharge from hospital reduces the chances of returning to hospital.

Health Minister Chris Picton. Picture: Russell Millard Photography

“This is a new service that not only provides dignity, compassion and support, but will help more people connect with the appropriate services with the aim of transitioning to longer term accommodation,” he said.

“It will also take pressure off our busy emergency departments and free up beds in our health system.”

The Salvation Army’s head of social mission, Captain Brad McIver, said: “The Salvation Army is passionately committed to seeing lives transformed.

“We are delighted to have the opportunity to partner with SA Health to provide this vital service to effectively build the capacity of people to connect and thrive in their community.”

Opposition leader David Speirs said: “It’s completely unacceptable to have an internal emergency in our hospitals going on for more than two months with no end in sight.

“Despite promising to ‘fix ramping’, Peter Malinauskas appears rather comfortable with code whites – where there are no hospital beds available – and record ramping being the norm in South Australia.”

Originally published as Homeless beds plan as elective cancellations soar amid code yellow