Aged are filling hospital beds but some soon to go to the Pullman
Public hospital patients who no longer need acute care may soon find themselves at an Adelaide hotel as data reveals the rising wait times for aged care beds.
SA News
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Elderly patients stuck in hospital while waiting for a federally funded aged care place are taking up the equivalent of an entire Modbury Hospital, Health Minister Chris Picton says — but some may soon end up in a luxury hotel.
The latest audit shows 253 patients languishing in metropolitan hospitals ready for discharge but waiting a federal aged care placement – a 158 per cent increase in 15 months.
The state government — which promised to “fix” ramping but saw another 3479 hours lost in January — has also seized on separate new data to show federal funding for aged care is part of the reason public hospital emergency departments remain clogged, in turn leading to delays transferring ambulance patients.
The Productivity Commission report on health services 2022-23 shows SA has the highest rate in the nation of hospital patient days used by people waiting for an aged care bed — 24.4 days in 2022-23, compared to the national average of 13.2 days.
More generally, the report shows elderly South Australians are waiting an average 253 days to be placed in aged care after receiving an ACAT assessment – the longest in the nation and almost double the national average of 136 days.
It comes as the government launched a program to relocate 24 public hospital patients who no longer need acute care — including aged care patients — to the Pullman Adelaide Hotel to allow them to rest and recover in comfort at no cost while freeing up beds.
The new Transition Care Service will be used by patients including people who are medically stable but still require clinical care and other supports while they wait for community or aged care accommodation, rehabilitation or at-home support to become available.
Mr Picton noted the government is opening 55 extra beds at Hampstead Rehabilitation Centre as part of a 70-bed hospital service for older people waiting for aged care but called on the federal government to do more to clear hospitals by making aged care places available.
“Right now there are a staggering 253 older South Australians medically ready to leave hospital but who are stuck there because they’re waiting for an aged care bed,” he said.
“That’s the equivalent of more than the entire Modbury Hospital taken out of the system.
“The latest Productivity Commission national report card shows SA has the longest waits in the country for a federal aged care bed.”
Opposition health spokeswoman Ashton Hurn said: “Not only is ramping through the roof, but this latest data also shows that less than half of South Australians presenting to a hospital in an emergency are seen on time.”
“Patients need to be seen within 10 minutes in an emergency, and roughly six out of 10 people aren’t - that makes South Australia the worst in the nation. Our health system hasnever been in worse shape, under a Premier and Minister who promised to fix it.”
The report also shows the percentage of people who have delayed or did not see a GP due to cost more than doubled in SA from 2.4 per cent in 2020-21 to 7.3 per cent in 2023-24.
Exacerbating this problem, the Commission reported the proportion of non-referred patients who were fully bulk-billed fell from 51.7 per cent in 2022–23 to 47.7 per cent in 2023–24.
Originally published as Aged are filling hospital beds but some soon to go to the Pullman
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