Hampstead began in the 1930s as a hospital for infectious diseases. As these infectious illnesses declined with the arrival of vaccines and new treatments, the site gradually shifted its focus. By the 1980s, it had become South Australia’s main centre for rehabilitation, offering specialist care for people recovering from brain and spinal injuries, amputations and other neurological conditions.
In the early 1900s, the land at Northfield was open paddocks used for grazing cattle by Leopold Conrad, a wealthy Adelaide butcher. In 1917, the South Australian Government bought the land for future development.
After a major polio epidemic in 1922, the government passed ‘The Metropolitan Infectious Diseases Act’ and part of that act was to build an Infectious Diseases Hospital and a Consumptive and Cancer Hospital.
Metropolitan Infectious Diseases Hospital
The first to be built was the Consumptive and Cancer Hospital in 1931, later known as Morris Hospital. The following year, the much larger Metropolitan Infectious Diseases Hospital began operating in 1932. It had 17 wards, nurse quarters, kitchens, laundry and a mortuary. The wards were separated and linked by covered walkways to limit the spread of infection. At its busiest, the hospital cared for around 1000 patients a year, mostly during winter epidemics. Diseases treated included diphtheria, scarlet fever, measles, whooping cough, erysipelas, chickenpox and tonsillitis.
The Hospital ran under its own Board of Management, with representatives from suburban councils and funding through a mix of council levies and State Government subsidies. When it opened on 7 October 1932, 50 patients were transferred from the old Infectious Diseases Block at the Royal Adelaide Hospital. Initially, there were 150 beds, with the option to use marquees during epidemics to expand capacity. During the 1934 diphtheria epidemic, staff admitted 352 patients and recorded 10 deaths recorded.
The Metropolitan Infectious Diseases Hospital began running its own nurse training course soon after it opened. It was a six month course that ran in conjunction with the Hospitals Department. The certificate below, belonging to Hilda Clare Walker, is from one of the first nurses to graduate from the initial course offered.
Staff Shortages
In 1937, South Australia found itself facing another polio epidemic. At the same time, the hospital struggled to recruit enough nurses. Thankfully it was quickly addressed by pay rises and the introduction of shorter working hours. That same year also saw the formation of the Voluntary Northfield Red Cross Auxiliary providing patient comforts until the 1970s, when nursing staff took this role over.
Wards B4 (and B5) were one of the original infectious diseases wards. The hospital originally used each ward to accommodate a specific disease, such as scarlet fever in B4. Later, ward B4 treated diphtheria, polio, hepatitis and from the 1970s into the1980s, aged care patients. Built with jarrah floors, it contained a ‘backs room’ with a large sink for soaking linen before being sent to the laundry. Outside on the verandah was a vat used for making laundry soap. Until the introduction of the Central Linen Service, all washing for patient and staff was done on site.
Northfield Wards
By the 1940s, new treatments like penicillin and school vaccination programs reduced the prevalence of infectious diseases. The hospital’s capacity reached 250 beds, but its role was already changing. In 1948, the government handed control of the hospital to Royal Adelaide Hospital, and it became known as the Northfield Wards of Royal Adelaide Hospital. A condition of the transfer was that Block B with all of its five wards be reserved for future infectious disease outbreaks.
Nurse shortages persisted, so to help address the problem, the Royal Adelaide Hospital sent probationer nurses to the Northfield Ward during their three year training: two months in the first year and another two in the third. Nurse attendants were also employed to relieve the nursing staff shortage. Alongside infectious disease patients, Northfield Wards began relieving overcrowding at the Royal Adelaide Hospital, accommodating long stay nursing home patients and providing rehabilitation services.
A polio resurgence in 1949 prompted the opening of additional wards to accommodate polio patients during the epidemic. Growing patient numbers and the need for more nurses meant nurse accommodation was tight and overcrowded. In the 1950s, two new nurses’ homes were built. Each new nurse’s home housed 40 nurses and connected to the wards by covered walkways.
New Focus
As the number of patients with infectious diseases declined over time, Northfield Wards increasingly shifted its focus. Nursing home care became a major part of its services, along with a growing emphasis on rehabilitation for patients recovering from illness, injury or surgery. As part of this change, in June 1961, the hospitals rehabilitation work led to the creation of a new role, an almoner, to support patient welfare and discharge planning.
By 1970, Northfield’s bed allocation reflected its evolving role. Of its 275 beds:
- 79 were reserved for infectious diseases,
- 72 for orthopaedic patients,
- 38 for rehabilitation, and
- 82 for long term nursing home care.
- Four beds were set aside for sick staff.
In addition, the 26 bed Spinal Injuries Unit at Morris Hospital was administered as part of Northfield’s operation.
Redevelopment
In December 1970, the Director General of Medical Services requested that a feasibility study into redeveloping Northfield Wards. On 27 March 1974, the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Public Works recommended proceeding with Stage 1 of the redevelopment. In the same year, the hospital demolished Wards D1 to D4 and foundations for two new ward blocks were laid. Construction began in April 1975, and on 3 March 1978, the Minister of Health officially opened the new 200 bed facility. Together with the Morris Wards, the site then held 237 beds across 46 buildings, with the new wards main entrance on Folland Road.
The original hospital layout of isolated ward blocks was replaced by a more modern design of two main ward blocks. Each ward block had 100 beds arranged in smaller 25 bed units. Single storey construction encouraged easy access between wards and landscaped garden courtyards. Bedrooms were placed along exterior walls so that each patient could look out onto either the gardens or outdoor living areas. The flexible internal arrangement allowed the hospital to cater for both men and women, including married couples.
That year, Commonwealth funding established the Eastern Regional Geriatric and Medical Rehabilitation Service, introducing a day hospital and specialist staff. Long stay geriatric patients benefited from diversional therapy at the Activities Centre. As part of the new redevelopment, the hospital built a central kiosk, along with trolley service to wards, and biweekly cinema shows.
End of the Infectious Diseases Era
By the late 1970s, the need for specialist infectious disease beds at Northfield had fallen sharply. The Royal Adelaide Hospital’s 1978-79 annual report recorded only 286 patients admitted for the year, with an average daily occupancy of 18. In September 1980, on the advice of the Health Commission, the Royal Adelaide Hospital Board of Management decided to move infectious disease services to the North Terrace site. This led to the closure Ward B6, Northfield’s 26 bed infectious disease unit. Northfield Wards were now no longer an infectious diseases hospital.
Rehabilitation
Through the 1980s, Northfield Wards operated with 225 beds, providing rehabilitation, nursing home care, neurosurgical rehabilitation, spinal injuries unit and community-based services for Adelaide’s eastern region. Several other organisations also used onsite facilities, including the Royal District Nursing Society, the Central Eastern Health Advisory Committee and the Department of Housing and Construction.
The Royal Adelaide Hospital School of Nursing set up a training school for Enrolled Nurses at Northfield in the early 1960s. It began as a Nurse Aide Training School before expanding into Enrolled Nurse training, with three students intakes each year. Nursing students from tertiary institutions and other major schools of nursing also completed clinical placement on site. Additionally, the School of Nursing offered a six month Post Basic Gerontic and Rehabilitation Course once a year.
Name Change
A change of name came in 1981, when Northfield Wards and Morris Hospital were officially renamed the Hampstead Centre (an annex of Royal Adelaide Hospital). The name reflected their new combined role as centres of rehabilitation and extended care facilities.
The site continued to house the Regional Geriatric and Medical Rehabilitation Service and the Eastern Domiciliary Care Service. The following year, these services merged with the Regional Day Hospital and consulting staff, to form the Eastern Regional Geriatric and Medical Rehabilitation Service (ER&MRS). This new service combined acute care, diagnosis, stroke rehabilitation, long-term nursing care and extensive day and domiciliary services.
By the 1990s, ERG&MRS had expanded to include short stay geriatric rehabilitation, respite care, and acute admissions for patients or carers in crisis. A psychogeriatric care program was introduced in partnership with Glenside and Hillcrest Hospital’s, offering home help and respite for people living with dementia.
In 1985, the site was renamed again, becoming Hampstead Rehabilitation Centre (HRC). It quickly became a leading rehabilitation facility, helping patients with spinal cord injuries, stroke and neurological conditions, amputations and mobility issues.
Redevelopment
The late 1980s and early 1990s saw several ward closures and repurposing projects, including the redevelopment of Ward 1B into an inpatient therapy area. By this time, Hampstead operated with 149 beds. Budget constraints led to the closure of three out of four nursing home wards and a halt on new admissions.
Major redevelopment followed in the early 1990s, with the building of a new Spinal Injury Unit, Pharmacy, Outpatients Department, Gymnasium, and Therapy Block with a hydrotherapy pool. In November 1994, all remaining Morris Hospital patients were transferred to these new facilities and Morris Hospital was closed. The official opening took place on 28 February 1995.
Further works followed. In 2000, a new Administration Building, carparks and workshops were built. The following year, the Statewide Brain Injury Rehabilitation Service relocated from Julia Farr and the Centre for Physical Activity in Ageing (CPAA) moved from Royal Adelaide Hospital. The CPAA brought specialised rehabilitation, health promotion and research programs to Hampstead.
Specialist Rehabiliation
Self-care dialysis was transferred to Hampstead in 1992 and in 2004 a new Dialysis Unit opened, supported by volunteers who provided activities and events for the patients receiving treatment. These services relocated in 2015 to the new Hampstead Dialysis Centre and Home Dialysis Unit (part of the new GP Superclinic), which offered 16 treatment chairs and a 5 chair training unit for patients opting for home based dialysis.
By 2005, Hampstead comprised of multiple specialist units including the Department of Geriatric & Rehabilitation Medicine; Orthopaedic, Amputee and Spinal Injury Rehabilitation Service; Brain Injury Rehabilitation Service; Centre for Physical Activity in Ageing and was home of the Metropolitan Domiciliary Care (Easter Region). The site had 150 funded inpatient beds and more than 430 staff.
By 2013, Hampstead had decreased to 115 beds:
- 62 general rehabilitation beds
- 53 specialist statewide rehabilitation beds, including:
- Stroke Rehabilitation (21 beds),
- Medical Rehabilitation (21 beds),
- Orthopaedics/Amputees/Burns (20 Beds),
- Brain Injury Rehabilitation (28 beds) and
- Spinal Cord Injury (25 beds)
In May 2018, the CALHN Health Museum moved from the Royal Adelaide Hospital to Hampstead.
Covid 19 Pandemic
During the Covid-19 pandemic, Hampstead again became a centre for infectious diseases. In March 2020, it opened Adelaide’s second drive thru Covid-19 Testing Facility. Initially requiring GP referrals, the testing centre moved to open testing by August. Long queues of cars stretched along Folland Avenue with wait times of up to three hours. In 2021, ahead of South Australia’s border reopening, an additional 38 beds were reopened to manage the anticipated rise in Covid-19 admissions.
Also in 2020, the Department of Human Services leased Ward 2A for NDIS patients under their Transition to Home Program. This moved to St Margaret’s in 2021, but the ward was then used by CALHN (Central Adelaide Local Health Networks) for the same purpose and renamed 2A Transition Ward.
New Services and Relocations
On 27 October 2021, the Geriatric Evaluation Management Unit (GEMU) opened in refurbished Ward 1B providing 10 beds for frail, elderly patients to reduce readmission risk and improve wellbeing.
March 2022 saw the relocation of the Care Awaiting Placement (CAP) from St Margaret’s Hospital to Hampstead. This program supports older patients awaiting permanent residential care placement.
In February 2022, Hampstead’s Spinal Cord Injury and Brain Injury Rehabilitation Services moved to a new purpose-built facility at the Repat Health Precinct. The new site included 48 beds, a rehabilitation gymnasium, café, town square and other health services. Approximately 280 existing and newly recruited staff also relocated from Hampstead as well.
Courtesy of Channel 9
In November 2024, Hampstead Rehabilitation Centre opened 25 beds as part of a specialised hospital service for older South Australians awaiting aged care placement. Demand for these services continued to grow, and by June 2025 the facility had expanded to 55 beds.
The opening of the Kangkanthi Building at The Queen Elizabeth Hospital in July 2024 saw the relocation Hampstead general rehabilitation wards (2CD and 2B) to the new 52 bed inpatient rehabilitation facility.
In November 2024, the Multi-Disciplinary Community Geriatrics service also moved from Hampstead Rehabilitation Centre to the Integrated Care Hub at Sefton Park. With these moves, Hampstead Rehabilitation Centre was no longer a centre for rehabilitation.
Today’s Role
Today, Hampstead Rehabilitation Centre’s focuses on providing specialised care for older South Australians. Current units include:
- The Care of the Older Person and Community Transition (CO-ACT) Program,
- Geriatric Evaluation and Management Unit (GEM),
- Specialist Geriatric Unit and
- Disability Transition Service
Written by Margot Way, CALHN Health Museum
