About ACHA
Adelaide Community Healthcare Alliance Incorporated (ACHA) is the largest private hospital group in South Australia. Operating within its proud community-based and not-for-profit tradition, it provides a wide range of high quality healthcare services through its collection of acute medical, rehabilitation, surgical and obstetric hospitals.
ACHA is an Association governed by a Board of six Directors elected and appointed by its members in accordance with it's Constitution.
ACHA enjoys a contractual agreement with Healthscope Operations Pty Ltd that sees ACHA retain responsibility for strategic direction and governance while Healthscope takes care of daily management of operations.
As a not-for-profit community health organisation, surplus funds are re-invested into the organisation and utilised in upgrading patient facilities, service and equipment.
ACHA operations is comprised of:
- Ashford Hospital, complemented by an Emergency Service
- Flinders Private Hospital
- The Memorial Hospital
ACHA employs some 2,200 staff and has over 1,400 accredited visiting medical specialists and volunteers.
The three ACHA hospitals are all fully accredited by the Australian Council on Healthcare Standards (ACHS).
ACHA's Hospitals
Ashford Hospital was opened in 1950, it was originally a joint collaboration between Unley, Mitcham, West Torrens and Marion Councils and a group of Western District doctors. It was actually the second hospital opened on the same site with Ashford Private Hospital first opening in 1935, which was run by two nursing sisters who sold the hospital to Ashford Community Hospital in 1950.
In 1995, Ashford Hospital was the first private hospital in the State to open an emergency department which now attends to over 10,000 patients each year.
Ashford Hospital was also the first private hospital in South Australia to perform Cardiac Surgery.
Opened in 1999, the hospital was Adelaide's first purpose built private hospital on a teaching hospital campus linking it to a major university medical school and an internationally recognised public teaching hospital.
Flinders Private was originally built as a for profit hospital before being acquired by ACHA. The land, on which the hospital is built, is leased from the South Australian State Government.
Originally three large homes situated on a two and a half acre property, The Memorial Hospital was established by the SA Methodist Conference as a monument to veterans of World War I. The hospital's first patient was admitted in 1920.
Since 2003, ACHA has enjoyed a contractual agreement with Healthscope Operations Pty Ltd that sees ACHA retain responsibility for strategic direction and governance while Healthscope takes care of daily management of operations.