Legislative Council Fifty-Fourth Parliament, First Session (54-1) 54 1 Parliament of South Australia Legislative Council published Question Time Repatriation General Hospital Repatriation General Hospital The Hon. D.G.E. HOOD Legislative Council Repatriation General Hospital The Hon. D.G.E. HOOD (14:30): My question is to the Minister for Health and Wellbeing. Will the minister update the chamber on recent developments at the Repat site? The Hon. S.G. WADE Legislative Council Minister for Health and Wellbeing Repatriation General Hospital The Hon. S.G. WADE (Minister for Health and Wellbeing) (14:30): I thank the honourable member for that question. The Marshall Liberal government is proud of the work that is going on at the Repat site, that we are the government that saved the site as a genuine health precinct as the South Australian community wanted. An important part of the work of reactivating the Repat site will be the delivery of specialised care for South Australians living with dementia. The scandal of Oakden casts a long shadow over our state. The Marshall Liberal government is determined to provide this vulnerable group of South Australians with the care they deserve and their families expect. The government has now established a partnership with nationally respected provider HammondCare to provide a 78-bed dementia care facility co-located with an 18-bed acute ward. This is a significant part of the Oakden response statewide model of care, providing a place where those who would formerly have gone to Oakden can now live with dignity. HammondCare will be responsible for the construction of the dementia care facility as well as for the clinical oversight within the facility. SA Health will assist through the provision of specialised medical services to support the clinical operations. The facility's 78 beds will be made up of 60 beds divided into four cottages for people with dementia who have complex care needs and two specialist dementia care units, each with nine beds, offering care to people with psychological symptoms of dementia and severe behaviours. The first demolition work for the facility is expected to begin in the first half of next year, while the initial works for the adjacent 18-bed acute facility are expected to commence in January next year. The work at the Repat is yet another example of this government putting into the Repat site investment to reactivate it as a genuine health precinct. In partnership with the Morrison Liberal government, the Marshall Liberal government will invest around $80 million on the site. In addition to that, there will be expenditure by private sector and NGO bodies. Unlike the former Labor government, which ignored the community, we have actively engaged the community along the journey while also working with clinicians to ensure that quality care is central to the services provided there. We are delighted to be able to establish a partnership with HammondCare. It is one more step on the road to see the Repat operating as a fully functioning part of the South Australian public health system.