Hotel health facility not a long-term fix
The South Australian Government is establishing a Transition Care Service at the Pullman Hotel. It will care for elderly patients who no longer need hospital treatment, but can't access federally funded aged care beds.
The following quotes are attributable to Dr John Williams, the President of the Australian Medical Association in South Australia (AMA SA):
AMA SA welcomes the South Australian Government’s continued efforts to examine all available options to increase capacity in our health system.
The past 12 months were marked by record ambulance ramping and a code yellow which shut down essential planned surgery for weeks on end.
January’s ramping figures suggest the bed block problem is not getting better.
We hope the Health Minister’s plan to establish a Transition Care Service at the Pullman Hotel will serve as a much-needed circuit breaker.
The South Australian Government has a responsibility to make sure this facility is properly staffed with enough trained professionals to ensure patients receive the best quality of care.
It’s also imperative that the service is fully connected with the rest of the health system, including hospitals and general practice, and that acute care can be obtained immediately in an emergency.
Significantly, this is not a long-term solution to our health crisis.
At the federal level we need increased investment in aged care, to reduce wait times for federal aged care beds.
AMA SA is also calling on the Australian Government to modernise Medicare, to support GPs so they can better meet the complex and chronic needs of patients, including mental health patients and the elderly.
GPs are the first line of defence in our health system. If they’re properly supported to do their jobs, they can keep their patients well and help reduce avoidable hospital admissions which contribute to bed block.
For more information please contact Media and Communications Advisor Ben Terry on 0478 847 604.
