New Transition Care Service to streamline patient care

A new transition care service will be established by the Central Adelaide Local Health Network (CALHN) following the success of the Transition Care Service at the Pullman Hotel.

Delivered by Amplar Health, the CALHN transition healthcare model will phase in a 50-bed service from March 2026 for an initial two years, with the option to increase to 70 beds and to extend for an additional two years.

The service will be a collaboration between CALHN and Amplar Health who will deliver the service at College Grove in Walkerville. Amplar Health and College Grove were selected following an extensive tender and evaluation processes.

This service will free up acute beds occupied by those who are facing an external barrier to being discharged, allowing a more effective flow of acute patients through hospital without additional infrastructure.

The 48-bed step-down service at the Pullman, which opened in end February 2025, has been an enormous success, with almost 600 people discharged in the 11 months since it began.

A transition care healthcare model provides intermediate care and bridges the gap between acute hospital and community living - often for those awaiting aged care placements, needing convalescent care, NDIS planning or pre-and-post-operative care - in a safe and appropriate facility with trained healthcare staff.

It offers a structured, supportive environment for gradual transition with more care than home but less than a hospital. It involves tailored levels of intensity, ensuring the right support and matches the patient's need, preventing escalation or relapse, and facilitating safe discharge.

Introducing this model will enable CALHN to improve the flow of patients and to reduce pressure on it’s emergency departments.

Amplar Health Chief Executive Robert Read congratulated the SA Government,

This service reflects the health transition Australia’s system needs – moving away from a one-size-fits-all hospital model toward smarter, more flexible models of care that deliver the right care, in the right place, at the right time.

“Amplar Home Hospital has been delivering the Transition Care Service at the Pullman for almost a year now and we have seen the tangible benefits it has provided for patients, hospitals and clinicians. Following its success, we’re excited by the opportunity to extend this model and support more South Australians to transition safely and confidently out of hospital.”