Aged care patients clogging SA hospitals hits record high
A record number of elderly patients stuck in hospitals has the peak medical body calling it a “human crisis”.
Health and Wellbeing Minister Blair Boyer has today revealed that the number of elderly patients stuck in South Australia’s public hospitals has hit a record high as they wait for a place in an aged care bed.
Boyers said there were now 487 aged care patients who are medically ready for discharge and blamed the Commonwealth for failing to provide enough residential aged care places.
It represents a 50 per cent increase since the March State Election – and more than 700 per cent since Labor returned to power in 2022.
AMA SA president associate professor Peter Subramaniam said that Minister Boyer was correctly in describing the situation as a “crisis”.
Subramaniam said a recent Health Performance Council report showed that $123 million over the past financial year was being spent managing these patients.
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“It’s a human crisis because what we know is, when we put elderly patients in a hospital bed for a prolonged period of care … that is actually detrimental to the functional status of the aged care person,” he said, adding that it had a direct correlation to ramping hours.
“They lose muscle strength, and they’re more prone to infections; cognitive decline can occur because of the lack of social and emotional stimulus.
“We’ve got to treat the problem from both ends, not just create the capacity in aged care, but also work on keeping our communities healthy and to remain in the community.”
Boyer called on the Federal Government to release more in-home aged care packages, to address issues with assessments and to assist with the transition care beds to get elderly patients out of the hospital.
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“The Malinauskas Labor Government is sounding the alarm; this is an aged care crisis,” Boyer said.
“We’ve been urging the Commonwealth to do more; now the number of elderly patients in SA Health facilities has reached a new record high of 487.
“The current number of aged care patients waiting for a bed is about the same as the number of patients at the Lyell McEwin hospital. If we were able to get them into an aged care bed, it would free up a whole hospital so we could treat those patients that need it.”
Council of the Ageing SA CEO Miranda Starke said that it was not the fault of elderly patients that they were stranded in hospitals.
“The older people that are stranded in hospital are having to put their lives on hold for months, even years, and this is not what any of us would want for ourselves or our loved ones. No one wants to live in a hospital,” she said.
“When older South Australians can’t get the aged care supports they need, either in their home or in residential aged care, they are more likely to end up in hospital.
“One third of South Australia’s stranded patients have dementia, and this challenge is even more urgent for them, because hospital environments can add to their distress.”
Federal Health Minister Mark Butler’s office was contacted for comment.
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