Healthy elderly people waiting for placement in aged care are causing hospital bed block, minister claims

South Australia has sent an SOS to the Federal Government urging improved age care efforts to stop healthy elderly people from clogging hospital beds.

South Australia has sent an SOS to the Federal Government urging improved age care efforts to stop healthy elderly people from clogging hospital beds.

Health Minister Chris Picton has told parliament the number of healthy elderly people taking up hospital beds had almost doubled since last year.

“In August 2022, there was an average of 88 patients each day in our metropolitan public hospitals and care awaiting placement beds,’’ he said.

“They were well enough to be discharged but were waiting for placement in an aged care facility. But as of this week, that number has risen to 175.”

Quizzed in the Parliament’s budget estimates committee hearings, Mr Picton said the NDIS system had struggled to fix the “bed block” to try and better place people in residential aged care.

“Being in hospital is not a good outcome for these people, and not a good outcome for the person who needs that hospital bed,’’ he said.

Mr Picton said the problem had largely been created because a number of private providers had pulled out of a system that allowed people temporary placement in homes.

“From July 1 three of those providers have removed themselves from the Federal Government program,’’ he said.

The pull out meant SA health staff were struggling with a 30 per cent cut in available temporary beds.

Premier Peter Malinauskas and Health Minister Chris Picton, who wants Canberra to get healthy elderly people out of SA hospitals. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Brenton Edwards

Mr Picton said he would hold an Aged Care Roundtable next month to try and turn the problem around, but there were limits to what could be done because the federal government was mainly responsible for aged care.

“Clearly Federal Government controls aged care but the impact is on the states and territories for hospitals,’’ he said.

In parliament Opposition Health spokeswoman Ashton Hurn focused her attack on the ambulance ramping crisis.

She questioned why the State Government was able to access weekly Ambulance ramping figures when there was positive news, but only monthly figures were released to the public.

“There doesn’t appear to be any (budget) target at all for the government’s number one election promise which was to fix ramping in South Australia,’’ Ms Hurn said.

“There doesn’t seem to be anything in there that would indicate the government will deliver on its promise to fix ramping, but says it will assist in the reduction of ramping.”

Ms Picton also announced a $1.9m package to tackle a tuberculosis outbreak in the APY Lands.

He also praised the work of the State Government’s favourite Independent MP Dan Cregan, who switched from the Liberal Party following the 2022 state election.

Also a member of the estimates committee, Mr Cregan asked Mr Picton about funding for the Mt Barker hospital, which is located in his marginal electorate.

Mr Picton praised Mr Cregan as “fanatical” in seeking funding for the new hospital in his electorate, being built at a total cost of $22m.