This is a community issue,
and I think it's a very good idea to get in early, and have a proper consultation process
that people can see is happening.
Because I've been a patient there,
and you know, the services and the facilities have been really fantastic,
and with a real niche, and about the veterans.
And I really believe that there ought to be surgery there,
particularly Orthopaedics and maybe Urology as well,
and I think it's important to keep surgery there because
they've got the 'one-stop-shop' and they've got the good transition that they talk about all the time.
The Repat is an important part of our healthcare network,
and lots of people have very fond memories of their time at the Repat.
It's about providing healthcare services to the community.
What that sort of looks like in terms of its detail,
I really want the community to be able to shape that,
I'm not necessarily attached to one particular concept plan, or one particular outcome,
it's really, you know, this consultation period is about giving everybody in the community,
all South Australians, to have a say about what it might look like.
I think it's the beginning of a process that we need to do,
with proper due diligence, to actually
understand what the best use of the Repat is going to be.
My particular focus of course is the return of multi-day surgery,
which used to be so successful there,
but I agree that there is a lot of
potential for a lot of synergies there, and I think
we need to build a critical mass of services that will complement each other.
I think from that point of view it's really important to
do this very carefully,
respectfully, which I think
we need to identify the pressure points elsewhere in the system,
and if possible use the Repat to relieve those pressure points.
The veterans will probably
think that they have a home again,
and they'll probably feel much more comfortable going back there.
From my own point of view, because I use the
gymnasium, the pool when it was at the Repat,
but it's all been moved to the Flinders,
and for me it's extra travel,
negotiating South Road at the moment,
and I'd prefer back down there because it's close for me,
and it's an, excellent facilities.
I think the general direction, the general objectives that are being set are right.
It's now up to us,
as the public, many of whom have had a lot to say about the Repat,
to now make constructive comment and say what we want, and why we want it.
Oh I think, I think one of the areas,
and it's of particular interest is the integration, the coordination of the services on the site.
That's what the Repat was known for.
I hope it becomes a vibrant area, which is the base,
not only for providing coordinated care on site,
but coordinated care out there in the community, in the home.
The speakers all had very different perspectives,
but gave us a really good overview
of the sorts of things that could happen at the site,
and keep it alive again.
The dementia services sound as though they could be,
almost world-class if you like to put it that way.
Homeless vets could probably benefit immensely from,
I think Daw House would be wonderful.
And there's so much space that the community owns,
let's use it for really good purposes.
I think what's really important is that, or reaffirms to me that the community really cares about the Repat,
and wants to be part of the process.
So this whole, the whole process
that's going to run for about a month is going to give the community their chance to have
a say about what's important to them,
and what's going to go on the new Repat site.
Making sure that our vet and RSL community is looked after is really important to me,
and to my community, but also as I said,
having those rehabilitation services, the outpatient services,
and the mental health services back at the Repat,
so important, so critical, and really glad to be part of the team that's going to deliver on it.
Yes, I think there were two particularly interesting presentations.
One from Christine Doerr about Urology and Orthopaedic surgery,
and I think that is very important that they go back there,
because that was promised by the incoming government,
and the need in terms of reducing waiting lists for those procedures is absolutely critical.
The other presentation was on mental health issues, and there's no doubt
that the Repat site with Ward 18 and other areas is very well placed
to accommodate both older people, and older people with mental health issues.
It has to develop a critical mass, in other words, what goes back there,
there must be synergies between the different services,
there must be support services. So that's going to be a big deal,
it'll take time, but it has to happen to make the place viable.