Gawler Health Service

The new Gawler Health Service emergency department opened in March 2024 and the existing emergency department refurbishment was completed in August 2024.

The new emergency department includes:

• 12 adult acute treatment bays and two paediatric treatment bays
• negative pressure room, with ante room and ensuite
• patient resuscitation bay
• new hybrid procedure patient bay
• patient admission and consulting spaces
• low-stimulus room.

Upgrades include:

• new undercover arrivals area and 35-space car park
• new Central Sterile Supply Department.

The State Government has also provided permanent funding for 16 sub-acute beds at Gawler.

A new oncologist clinic is also open so more cancer patients in the Gawler and Barossa region can access treatment closer to home. The new clinic is part of a broader network of 15 regional oncologist clinics and means patients across Gawler, Barossa, Adelaide Hills and beyond can access face-to-face time with a specialist without having to travel to metropolitan hospitals. The service helps meet the growing demand for cancer treatment in the regions, with patients being seen within 14 days of their doctor referral.

Kangaroo Island Health Service

The Kangaroo Island Health Service will be upgraded and is due for completion in late 2025. The Federal Government is building workforce accommodation, also due for completion in late 2025. The existing helipad will be upgraded to increase the landing area space and improve lighting, beacons and navigation equipment.

Kapunda Hospital

The Kapunda Hospital helipad is being upgraded to increase the landing area space and improve pathways to the hospital, as will lighting, beacons and navigation equipment.

Keith and District Healthcare

The former Keith site has been transitioned into an SA Health-run facility, including the co-located 26 aged care rooms at Stirling Lodge.

Port Augusta Hospital

The Port Augusta Hospital emergency department is being upgraded, which will include a new triage and assessment area, as well as upgrading the waiting area, entrance and reception areas, due for completion in late 2025. Security will also be improved at the hospital, which will be complete in late 2024.

Port Pirie Hospital

The Port Pirie Hospital emergency department is being upgraded, due for completion in 2025. The helipad is also being upgraded to increase the landing area space and improve pathways to the hospital, as will lighting, beacons and navigation equipment.
In addition, there will be a brand-new Clinical Simulation Training Laboratory to help train health workers, and a new Skin Cancer Clinic provides comprehensive skin checks, dermoscopy, cryotherapy, and skin/lesion biopsies and excisions.

Balaklava Soldiers’ Memorial District Hospital

A major redevelopment of Balaklava’s Ira Parker Nursing Home is underway, funded partly by the Balaklava Riverton Health Advisory Council. The helipad is also being upgraded to increase the landing area space and improve pathways to the hospital, as will lighting, beacons, and navigation equipment.

Clare Hospital

The Clare Hospital helipad is being upgraded to increase the landing area space and improve pathways to the hospital, as will lighting, beacons, and navigation equipment. In addition, the Central Sterile Supply Department will be upgraded.

Mount Barker District Soldiers’ Memorial Hospital 

Upgrades to the Mount Barker District Soldiers’ Memorial Hospital emergency department was complete in June 2023 with 17 new treatment bays including:

• two resuscitation bays
• two paediatric treatment bays
• 13 general patient treatment bays
• a new negative pressure treatment bay.

New Mount Barker Hospital

Construction will commence on a new Mount Barker Hospital in late 2024, which will triple inpatient capacity and include:

• a new 12-bed mental health ward – the first for the Adelaide Hills
• services in surgery, obstetrics, renal, pathology, radiology and rehabilitation
• expanded birthing capacity with dedicated space for paediatrics and palliative care.

Mount Gambier Hospital

Mount Gambier Hospital is being upgraded, including:

• a new 6-bed Emergency Department Short Stay Unit
• two new inpatient drug and alcohol withdrawal beds
• doubling the number of mental health beds to 12, with six additional rehabilitation beds.

 

Naracoorte Health Service

The Naracoorte Health Service is being upgraded, due for completion mid-2025, including:

• the first stage of a major development to the hospital
• emergency department upgrade
• infection control, compliance and engineering upgrades.

Southern Fleurieu Health Service

Construction is underway on the Southern Fleurieu Health Service emergency department upgrade, due for completion mid-2025. There will be 20 new treatment spaces, including:

• 12 treatment bays
• three Emergency Short Stay Unit beds
• two emergency resuscitation beds
• two consulting rooms
• a low stimulus room.

In addition, the helipad is being upgraded to increase the landing area space and improve pathways to the hospital, as will lighting, beacons, and navigation equipment.

The State Government are also expanding the existing renal dialysis unit from four chairs to six, which will enable an additional eight people to receive treatment.

Whyalla Hospital

Major upgrades are planned for Whyalla Hospital and Health Service due for completion late 2025, including:

• a new emergency department with 12 treatment bays
• a new 6-bed High Dependency Unit
• new waiting rooms and reception areas
• new low stimulus safe assessment and observation rooms for patients need that level of care.

In addition, a new birthing unit opened at Whyalla Hospital and Health Service in July 2024.

Port Lincoln Hospital

Port Lincoln Hospital implemented 24/7 security guards in 2022 and has expanded its services, including establishing a paediatrician outpatient service and upgrading the Medical Oncology Unit from low complexity to medium-level complexity with an additional full time equivalent (FTE) employee.

In addition, the Medical Education and Training Unit has been accredited to improve the attraction and retention of doctors.

Coober Pedy Hospital

A new workforce model at Coober Pedy Hospital has improved staff retention and recruitment, with fly-in fly-out options available for registered nurses.

Leigh Creek Health Centre

The new Leigh Creek Health Centre opened in June 2024, which includes:

• a nurse-led clinic
• two emergency treatment spaces
• three multidisciplinary consulting spaces for visiting clinicians, GP’s, and allied health professionals
• telehealth services for people living in Leigh Creek and surrounding areas
• ambulance respite
• a pharmacy
• a mortuary
• visitor parking and secure staff parking.

Riverland General Hospital

The Riverland General Hospital Central Sterile Supply Department (CSSD) was upgraded in February 2024 as part of the Riverland CSSD Hub and Spoke Model. Permanent 24/7 security guards will soon be onsite. In addition, the Midwifery Group Practice Midwifery Model of Care is now available at Riverland General Hospital.
The helipad is also being upgraded to increase the landing area space and improve pathways to the hospital, as will lighting, beacons, and navigation equipment.

Murray Bridge Soldiers’ Memorial Hospital

The Murray Bridge Soldiers’ Memorial Hospital will soon have permanent 24/7 security guards onsite. In addition, the Midwifery Group Practice Midwifery Model of Care is now available at Murray Bridge Soldiers’ Memorial Hospital and works in collaboration with the Tumake Tinyeri Birthing Program.
The helipad is also being upgraded to increase the landing area space and improve pathways to the hospital, as will lighting, beacons, and navigation equipment.

Loxton Hospital Complex

The Loxton Hospital Complex Central Sterile Supply Department upgrades are currently underway as part of the Riverland CSSD Hub and Spoke Model. In addition, the Midwifery Group Practice Midwifery Model of Care is now available at Loxton Hospital Complex.
The helipad is also being upgraded to increase the landing area space and improve pathways to the hospital, as will lighting, beacons, and navigation equipment.

Mannum District Hospital

The Mannum District Hospital helipad is being upgraded to increase the landing area space and improve pathways to the hospital, as will lighting, beacons, and navigation equipment.

Meningie and Districts Memorial Hospital and Health Services

The Meningie and Districts Memorial Hospital and Health Services helipad is being upgraded to increase the landing area space and improve pathways to the hospital, as will lighting, beacons, and navigation equipment.

Port Broughton District Hospital and Health Services

The Port Broughton District Hospital and Health Services helipad is being upgraded to increase the landing area space and improve pathways to the hospital, as will lighting, beacons, and navigation equipment.

Wallaroo Hospital and Health Service

A new 6-bed inpatient rehabilitation service is now open at Wallaroo Hospital and Health Service, which is the first dedicated rehabilitation facility established on the Yorke Peninsula. The service supports medically stable patients including those who have had a stroke, amputation, orthopaedic surgery or are recovering from cancer treatment, and includes two dedicated telehealth suites. The service is staffed by Yorke and Northern Local Health Network (YNLHN) and Northern Adelaide Local Health Network (NALHN) clinicians who specialise in a range of areas from nursing to social work, physiotherapy, occupational therapy, speech pathology, dietetics and a rehabilitation physician.

The Wallaroo Hospital and Health Service helipad is being upgraded to increase the landing area space and improve pathways to the hospital, as will lighting, beacons, and navigation equipment.

Mount Gambier Medicare Urgent Care Clinic

A walk-in Medicare Urgent Care Clinic is now open at Mount Gambier Family Health.

Staffed by doctors and nurses, Medicare Urgent Care Clinics are open for extended hours and provide bulk-billed urgent care without an appointment or referral, giving South Australians more options for urgent health care.

The State Government is supporting the Federal Government and Primary Health Networks to deliver six Medicare Urgent Care Clinics across South Australia to help reduce pressure on our hospitals.

Mount Barker BreastScreen SA clinic

The BreastScreen SA Mount Barker Clinic was made a permanent clinic in January 2023.

Nurse-led clinics

Two new nurse-led clinics are now open in Gumeracha and Strathalbyn.

Mount Barker Priority Care Centre

The Mount Barker Priority Care Centre provides community-based healthcare and treatment for eligible patients with urgent but non-life-threatening conditions who would otherwise seek treatment at a public hospital emergency department.

By referral only, Priority Care Centres are led by general practitioners with additional support from SA Health hospital-trained nurses, providing a range of services that support care and treatment with no out-of-pocket costs for eligible patients.

Remote health monitoring for regional and remote communities

A 24/7 remote health monitoring service is available to help patients avoid unnecessary trips to hospital and improve access to care across regional South Australia. The service is available to patients in rural and regional South Australia aged 15 and over with a GP referral. After being referred, patients are given a take home kit including a smart tablet.

Patients with chronic conditions including heart disease, diabetes, and lung conditions can monitor their vital signs at home. They are educated in detecting the early warning signs of a worsening condition, looking after their health and can speak to a nurse or doctor if needed. This reduces the need for visits to an emergency department.

The service enables early intervention to reduce patient hospitalisations and length of stays and GPs can track their patients’ condition online.

24/7 SA Telestroke Service

The 24/7 Telestroke Service for regional patients reduces the number of unnecessary transfers of patients to metropolitan hospitals and provides life-saving treatment where time is critical. Rural and regional clinicians can call a neurologist at any time, seven days a week, for specialist stroke advice and treatment support. If the patient has a clot-based stroke, they can be given medication at one of eight major regional hospitals to improve outcomes, supported remotely by SA Telestroke neurologists.

Increased drug and alcohol support

Drug and alcohol addiction creates significant challenges for individuals, families and the community. The State Government is increasing the number of dedicated treatment beds and delivering more community support for families impacted by addiction, so community-based treatment is easier to access, including:

• six additional rehabilitation beds in Mount Gambier in partnership with Uniting Communities
  
• two inpatient drug and alcohol withdrawal beds at Mount Gambier Hospital
• four additional alcohol and other drug rehabilitation beds in Port Augusta.

Palliative care services

In partnership with the Federal Government, a new Palliative Care Navigation Pilot, Palliative Care Connect, links terminally ill patients with local palliative care support.

Palliative Care Connect:

• increases access to palliative care in the community by giving better information about available services via a dedicated phone line and website
• improves volunteer coordination
• provides access to bereavement support and palliative care navigators.

We have employed 10 more specialist palliative care nurses or patients in regional areas, enabling more people to be cared for closer to home and providing patients with more end-of-life choice.

Aboriginal health services

Riverland Mallee Coorong Local Health Network (RMCLHN) launched a diabetes remission program called Nra:gi Ya:yun, in collaboration with Flinders University, and codesigned with Aboriginal people on Ngarrindjeri country. RMCLHN opened multiple Aboriginal Health Clinics in 2023 and 2024, including a drop-in paediatric clinic for Aboriginal children, hearing and optometry clinics, an Elders social group, Aboriginal GP clinics in partnership with local practices, and an ACAT clinic enabling Aboriginal Elders to access Commonwealth-funded aged care services.

We’re delivering brand new, upgraded and completely rebuilt ambulance stations and more staff to provide emergency medical care for South Australians.

New and rebuilt ambulance stations at Gawler, Mount Barker, Port Augusta, Victor Harbor, Strathalbyn, Whyalla, Two Wells and Birdwood

• The Gawler ambulance station will be rebuilt, with an additional 15 paramedics and three ambulance officers.
• The Mount Barker ambulance station will be rebuilt, due for completion in early 2025 and will be the base for current crews and an additional 12 paramedics who joined in March 2023, as well as 3 paramedics and 3 ambulance officers who joined in March 2024.
• The rebuilt Port Augusta ambulance station opened in July 2024, with an additional three paramedics and three ambulance officers.
• A new Victor Harbor ambulance station is being built to replace the current station and is due for completion in the first half of 2025. It will be the base for current crews and an additional 12 paramedics joining in November 2024.
• A newly rebuilt ambulance station is now open in Strathalbyn, with 12 paramedics commencing in November 2025.
• A new Whyalla ambulance station will be built to replace the current station, with work commencing in 2025 and opening in 2026. This will be a base for the existing 26 paramedics, as well as 12 new paramedics who joined in July 2024 and a six-person regional transfer crew.
• A new ambulance station will be built in Two Wells, with work commencing in 2025 and opening in 2026, with an additional 6 paramedics.
• A new volunteer ambulance station is open in Birdwood.

 

Upgrading ambulance stations at Mount Gambier, Whyalla, Wallaroo, Goolwa, Bordertown and Peterborough

• The Mount Gambier ambulance station will be upgraded and is due for completion in early 2025, with an additional 15 paramedics and three ambulance officers.
• The Wallaroo ambulance station is being upgraded and is due for completion in late 2025, with an additional 12 paramedics and a community paramedic.
• The Goolwa ambulance station will be upgraded and is due for completion in late 2025.
• The Bordertown and Peterborough ambulance stations will be upgraded, with an additional six paramedics and ambulance officers for Bordertown.

Medicare Mental Health Centres in Mount Barker, Port Pirie and Mount Gambier

• The Mount Barker Enhanced Medicare Adult Mental Health Centre will open in late 2024 to provide urgent and longer-term mental health care.
• A new Medicare Mental Health Centre is now open in Port Pirie, providing mental health support for adults.
• A Medicare Mental Health Centre (formerly Head to Health) is already open in Mount Gambier.

Boosting our regional workforce

More than the equivalent of 200 full-time staff have already been employed in regional South Australia since 2022, including:

• 36 extra doctors
• 162 nurses
• 10 extra allied health professionals.

Our regional hospitals are also benefitting from the commencement of 206 graduate nurses and midwives in the Transition to Professional Practice Program.

Mental health workforce

• Community mental health teams across regional South Australia will be boosted with dedicated older persons specialist mental health professionals being introduced at all regional Local Health Networks.
• Supporting the distribution of eight full-time equivalent (FTE) roles over four years.
• The Older Persons Mental Health Specialist Service (OPMHSS) delivers specialist mental health services across regional South Australia to support older people to maximise their mental health.
• The first four new FTE positions have already been recruited and are currently working across Barossa Hills Fleurieu Local Health Network (BHFLHN), Limestone Coast Local Health Network (LCLHN), Riverland Mallee Coorong Local Health Network (RMCLHN) and Yorke and Northern Local Health Network (YNLHN).
• A further four FTE roles began recruitment in June 2024 with positions at Eyre and Far North Local Health Network (EFNLHN) and Flinders and Upper North Local Health Network (FUNLHN), and another each at BHFLHN and YNLHN.

Career pathways

• Eyre and Far North Local Health Network (EFNLHN) will partner with the new Port Augusta Technical College to create pathways to a health career for students from Year 10 to 12.
• Riverland Mallee Coorong Local Health Network (RMCLHN) increased their appointment of Transition to Professional Practice Program nurse and midwifery graduates and are offering permanency within the Local Health Network.
• RMCLHN has also increased Enrolled Nursing (EN) Cadetships and launched the Aged Care Cadetship Program in 2024.
• Yorke and Northern Local Health Network (YNLHN) are partnering with Northern Adelaide Local Health Network (NALHN) to begin a Nursing Exchange Pilot Program, providing early career nurses with the opportunity to participate in a nurse swap program.
• The Regional Enrolled Nurse (EN) Cadetship Program has increased the number of regional students gaining clinical experience in a regional hospital, with 25 cadets working and studying to complete their Diploma of Enrolled Nursing since January 2023, including three Aboriginal EN cadets.
• The 2024 Regional Scholarship Program provided opportunities and incentives to attract, retain, and upskill the health workforce in regional South Australia to meet the needs of local communities, with 43 scholarships awarded across undergraduate and postgraduate health disciplines.
  

Additional regional medical training pathways

The new Single Employer Model (SEM), first trialled by the Riverland Mallee Coorong Local Health Network’s Riverland Academy of Clinical Excellence (RACE) in South Australia, will support up to 60 additional GP and rural generalist registrars training in the community throughout regional and rural South Australia at any one time. This is on top of the existing 20 positions already in place through the RACE model.

The single employer model enables medical graduates to be employed by one employer while they complete their placement in rural and regional locations, instead of changing employers every six or 12 months. The pathway provides up to five years of employment for medical trainees from graduation through to their fellowship as a rural general practitioner with advanced skills or a rural generalist. Through this program, trainees can complete their training in private practices without the need to change employer to get supervised experience in general practice.