Gabrielle Duykers, Naracoorte Community News

A newly proposed healthcare model for Keith and District Hospital would see it move into the public local health network, but 24/7 care has been excluded from the plan. 

In November 2021, the Limestone Coast Local Health Network (LCLHN) appointed a steering committee to help transition the hospital to a health hub model.

The committee is now seeking feedback on the long-term plan for what it has dubbed the Keith Health Hub  – with an official name yet to be set – and hopes to have completed the transformation by January 2023.

Transition project manager Kelly Borlase said the hub would aim to provide sustainable health and aged care services “responsive to the needs of the Keith community”, as identified in early consultation. 

“The hospital is very important to the community, so maintaining and growing that connection is vitally important for whatever future model we have,” Ms Borlase said.

“Maintaining and supporting a general practice is absolutely imperative, as people know there’s been times when we haven’t had a GP in Keith and that’s been really difficult for the community.

“And lastly, sustaining access to urgent care services is really important to the community, so with the nearness to the Dukes Highway and the amount of industry that occurs in Keith, people were very concerned to have something there to respond to in an emergency care that you need.”

After years of negotiations, Keith District Hospital secured a $3 million funding agreement with the State Government in April of 2021, which runs until December 31, 2022.

Prior to the agreement, intermittent funding meant the hospital struggled to retain permanent staff due to uncertainty over the future of the facility. 

Under the Keith Health Hub plan, the facility would no longer be a private facility and instead become part of the LCLHN, managed by SA Health. 

“This means that the hub is no longer sitting on its own, it’s got that backup with the wider health service to be able to provide particularly clinical governance, education and backup whenever required,” Ms Borlase said.

Furthermore, she said she hoped adopting the facility into the public health network would increase its communication between other hospitals in the South East and improve working relationships with medical staff across the region. 

As part of the transition, the current Keith and District Hospital Governing Board could potentially morph into a Health Advisory Council (HAC), a consultative body which works with SA Health to provide advice on health service needs and priorities for the community. 

The proposed model for the Keith Health Hub would facilitate ‘Urgent Care’ from 9am to 7pm Monday to Friday. This care would primarily be provided by a community paramedic and nurse practitioner, as well as supported by SA Ambulance Service volunteers, telehealth services and a GP from 9am to 5pm on weekdays. 

The Nurse Practitioner and Community Paramedic would work in partnership where one or the other is at the Urgent Care service at all opening times.

Outside of these hours, the community would be advised to call 000 for ambulance assistance or present at Bordertown Memorial Hospital Emergency Service.

Acute Care will no longer be provided by the hospital under the new health hub model. However, acute care could occur when deemed “clinically appropriate” in a patient’s home under the care of a GP with additional help from other health professionals.

“Additional acute care can be provided in the community and would be supported by the community paramedic and nurse practitioner when they’re not required for an urgent care callout,” Ms Borlase said. 

“These communities will be supported to avoid hospitalisation where possible.”

Patients who require a stay in hospital during acute care treatment will be admitted to Bordertown Memorial Hospital, Mount Gambier Hospital or a metropolitan hospital.

The new model would also see the establishment of a Community Health Hub, which would serve as an information and referral service for those seeking health assistance.

“It will have a coordination service where people can come in and have a chat if they don’t know what they need and be directed or referred to other services,” Ms Borlase said.

It would also include resident nurses, a community paramedic, a nurse practitioner, NDIS services, rooms for visiting specialists, spaces for community groups, and a community garden.

“The vision for this Community Health Hub is to really be a hive of activity where the community can come in, aged care residents can utilise it, and clubs can meet there to really encourage people to come in and out of the hub,” Ms Borlase said.

Lastly, the facility would continue to offer an Aged Care service, with a total of 26 rooms, a cafe, gym, and hairdresser.

Ms Borlase said aged care residents would benefit from increased access to respite and rehabilitation because of the additional allied health professionals in the new model.

“We know that the over 80 age group is looking to increase by 75 per cent  in the next 20 years, so this really means the aged care needs to be front and centre in whatever future you want to have,” she said.

The proposed Keith Health Hub model was presented to Tatiara District Council at its monthly meeting last week, allowing councillors to share their feedback.

Cr Miles Hannemann expressed his concern at the restricted hours for urgent care.

“Where do the residents of Keith go when they get sick at 12am in the middle of the night?” he asked.

“I think we deserve 24/7 service.

“With the amount of money this area contributes to the State Government we should be pushing that, not having to go to Bordertown (hospital).”

Keith and District Hospital Board chair Peter Brooklyn, who co-presented the model plan, expressed concern over the name of the facility.

“I personally don’t like the idea of a ‘health hub’ because it loses the name of the hospital, and I think that a hub, unfortunately to me, seems like just another medical service,” Mr Brooklyn said.

He said joining the LCLHN was the “only option” to ensure a sustainable future for Keith hospital.

“We’ve been fighting for government funding for 20 years, and we can keep on fighting for the next few but it just doesn’t work any more,” Mr Brooklyn said.

The transition committee is seeking feedback from the community on the proposed Keith Health Hub, which will help shape and develop the model.

The plan and online survey can be accessed online at www.sahealth.sa.gov.au/wps/wcm/connect/public+content/sa+health+internet/about+us/our+local+health+networks/limestone+coast+local+health+network/proposed+keith+health+hub.

Public consultation will close on March 20, 2022.

This article appeared in Naracoorte Community News.