Tenders to help empty hospitals of patients ready for discharge as new ramping data released
A 70-year-old South Australian has spent almost three years in hospital limbo despite 60 attempts to move into residential aged care and she is not alone.
The state government has opened tenders for two new services to take 120 long stay hospital patients ready for discharge but with nowhere to go in the aged care or NDIS systems.
The announcement comes as new data shows ramping hit 4557 hours in September – the eighth worst month on record, but a big drop from July’s record 5866 hours and August’s 5201 hours.
The move to find halfway houses for aged care and NDIS patients to free up hospital beds and cut ramping comes as new figures shows 59 patients have each spent more than 100 days stuck in Adelaide metropolitan hospitals, despite being medically cleared for discharge – a total of 10,925 days.
A further 50 patients have each been waiting between 50 and 100 days. Examples include:
A WOMAN in her 70s who has spent 1052 days in hospital, referred to more than 60 residential aged care homes with no placement offers;
A MAN in his 70s who has spent 357 days in hospital, referred to more than 30 residential aged care homes with no placement offers.
SA Health now has 377 patients in care but stuck waiting for federal care places.
The state government’s call for tenders include:
UP to 70 beds in the CBD or surrounding suburbs for patients stuck in the Royal Adelaide and Queen Elizabeth hospitals who no longer require acute care;
UP to 50 beds in the northern suburbs for similar patients stuck in the Lyell McEwin and Modbury hospitals.
This initiative builds on the success of the Transition Care Service at the Pullman Hotel, which the state government recently doubled capacity to 48 beds.
Since opening in February, the service has saved 5685 hospital bed days.
Health Minister Chris Picton said it was unacceptable that “South Australians are stuck in hospital beds for years, not because of medical need, but simply because there is nowhere else for them to go”.
“This is one of the key factors driving the bed block across our health system. Too many South Australians remain in hospital long after their treatment is complete, through no fault of their own,” he said.
“Rather than waiting for the federal government to take action we are releasing new tenders for up to 120 more beds, on top of the 48 beds we currently have in the Pullman Hotel.”
However, Oppostion health spokeswoman Ashton Hurn said: “We’ve now had the worst 40 months of ramping ever — now, instead of taking responsibility, Labor is desperately looking for someone else to blame.
“A lack of aged care beds isn’t new, this has been a problem for years — so why wasn’t this sort of action taken three years ago?”
Central Adelaide Local Health Network chief executive Dr Emma McCahon said: “Finding a partner to continue caring for our transition patients will enable us to provide access to urgent care at our major hospitals, in a timely manner, for as many people who need it”.
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