Feature Image: ON Architecture (provided).
A new three-theatre private hospital proposed for Prospect is being designed to fill what its developer describes as a gap in Adelaide’s northern suburbs, with dental, plastic, hand, eye and ENT surgery among the procedures planned for the facility.
Prospect Private Hospital is proposed for 126 Main North Road, on the former CBD Appliances site, with construction targeted for 2027 and an opening planned for 2028, subject to planning approval.
“I was prompted to start a hospital because of the frustration that many dentists, dental and oral surgeons, myself included, have been finding it increasingly difficult to access theatre time at the established hospitals in Adelaide,” Dr Samy Kafagy, who is leading the project, said.
What began as plans for a small dental facility expanded after Dr Kafagy connected with consultant anaesthetist Dr Dustin de Jonge, who identified what they saw as a shortage of medium-sized day surgery facilities in Adelaide’s inner north.
The development application currently before planners proposes a three-storey hospital with eight overnight rooms, pre-operative holding areas, a recovery ward, consultation and interview rooms, parking and an ambulance bay.
“In our initial stages we will focus on day procedures like dental and oral surgery under anaesthesia, for adults and children, plastic and hand surgery, eye surgery and ENT surgery,” Dr Kafagy said.
“Our facility is designed to accommodate other specialties wishing to grow their practice in Adelaide’s north, as it includes large, modern theatres that will be able to host more complex surgery and overnight stays in the following stage.”
The proposed overnight rooms would also provide an option for patients travelling from regional areas, those without someone available to support them at home, or patients requiring additional care following larger procedures.
“There is a geographic gap, with most of the day surgeries being located in the eastern suburbs, the western suburbs or in the city. There are few day surgeries north of the CBD,” Dr Kafagy said.
“There is also a needs gap, with many specialists feeling like they have nowhere to operate, or are being squeezed into lists at larger hospitals not well set up for their specialty.”
The Main North Road site is just a few hundred metres from Dr Kafagy’s existing Medindie Dental practice.
“The northern suburbs of Adelaide have been growing rapidly over the last 10 to 20 years and so far the health infrastructure has not been growing with it, so when this land became available it seemed like the perfect location to put my idea into action,” he said.
The proposal also comes amid wider change along Main North Road, including plans for the nearby Prospect Lifestyle Precinct, which has a health, wellness and sports focus.
Dr Kafagy said the hospital had already attracted interest from clinicians looking to establish or expand their practices north of the CBD.
The upper level has been designed for flexible future use, including the potential for permanent consulting rooms.
Despite the inclusion of ambulance access, the facility is not intended to operate as an emergency department.
“We would love to help ease the pressure on the public health system, but treating emergency patients is not what a day surgery of this size is designed or licensed for,” Dr Kafagy said.
“The ambulance access exists only so a patient can be transferred to a larger hospital safely in the rare event that they need it.”
If approved, construction is expected to begin in early to mid-2027, with the hospital potentially opening in 2028.
The facility is expected to initially employ around 10 to 15 nursing, technical and administrative staff, growing to between 25 and 30 as demand increases, alongside visiting surgical and anaesthetic specialists.
The proposed hospital has been designed by Adelaide-based ON Architecture, which specialises in health, commercial and residential projects.
“The delivery of the private hospital project with Dr Kafagy and the wider specialist team will provide fantastic amenity to the local area,” Director Mark Nield said.
“The project is located in a key position within the inner northern suburb of Prospect to provide health services to both the local and wider South Australian community.”
Prospect Private Hospital
When: Opening planned for 2028 subject to approvals
Where: 126 Main North Road, Prospect
