Long-stay patient discharge scheme is freeing up hospital beds

A patient who spent all of 2019 stuck in a hospital bed is part of a shrinking pool of long-stay patients as officials work to find more suitable care facilities for them including home care.

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The state’s longest-staying patient who is still in hospital spent all of 2019 in a ward – and that was after being there for much of 2018 as well.

The patient has chalked up nearly 440 days in a hospital bed.

Health officials say the patient is being supported to be ready for discharge to a more appropriate care setting.

The wider good news is this long stay patient is part of a shrinking pool of such people who are stuck in hospital for months, or even years, despite being medically ready to leave, due to lack of suitable alternative care.

Between April 1 and December 20, 151 patients were discharged through the long stay discharge program.

They included six who had been in hospital more than 600 days.

Those 151 patients’ hospital stays collectively tallied more than 17,000 bed days.

Emergency departments are chronically clogged due to lack to ward beds for patients once they have been treated in EDs.

That exacerbated the “bed block” issue where emergency departments are chronically clogged due to lack to ward beds for patients once they have been treated in EDs.

Bed block compounds the problem of ambulance ramping.

The long stay discharge project, led by Wellbeing SA (part of SA Health), has provided interim funding to purchase in-home services, equipment and home modifications to help people into more appropriate care.

“Our nation-leading pilot program has put a strong focus on ensuring patients who are clinically ready to leave our hospitals are moved to a more suitable place for their care,” Wellbeing SA chief executive Lyn Dean said.

“Since the NDIS Hospital Discharge Pilot Project and the Long Stay Transition to Discharge Project began earlier this year, we have seen real results for our long stay patients.

“The program addresses the fragmentation of our health system by resolving bed block issues.

“(It) improves patient flow and strengthens the co-ordination between hospitals, the National Disability Insurance Agency and state-based services such as community care and social housing to resolve individual patient needs.”

The project is continuing to look for alternative care and support for more than 100 patients who have had long hospital stays.