The Minns Labor Government will provide interim aged care services to help older stranded patients to return from hospital to the comfort of home more quickly and safely.
It comes as a new report by the NSW Productivity and Equality Commission (PEC) warns any state action needs to complement, not replace, the Commonwealth's responsibility for aged care.
PEC report: 7,000 stranded older patients within 10 years
The NSW Government commissioned the PEC's Helping older patients stranded in NSW public hospitals report in response to the growing impact that discharge delays are having on older people, their families, and hospitals across NSW.
Based on Commission modelling, the number of older stranded patients could increase from around 1,100 today to more than 7,000 by 2036 as the population ages and demand for aged care continues to outpace supply.
The report estimates that the Commonwealth Government will need to deliver 2,600 additional residential aged care beds in NSW each year, but is currently only delivering a quarter of what is required.
The PEC recommends the Commonwealth Government to increase funding for aged care, separate to funding for healthcare and hospital activity.
NSW Government announces interim aged care services
The Minns Labor Government will establish a new $28 million pilot program to provide interim aged care services to assist older patients waiting to be discharged from hospital to return home, while they wait for Commonwealth Government Support At Home packages.
The support may include clinical care such as wound care and symptom management, personal care, domestic assistance, assistive technology, and home modifications.
The $28 million pilot program will assist more than 300 patients each year, and unlock more hospital beds for patients who need them the most.
This forms part of the Minns Labor Government's $35.7 million Aged Care Response Package, to help older patients stay healthy and avoid hospital, as well as to help older patients return home more quickly and safely.
NSW Government unlocking beds
The NSW Government has consistently pursued reform through avenues available to it to alleviate the impact stranded patients have on the people concerned and the healthcare system more broadly, including:
- Expanding the capability of our specialist geriatric care services, providing hospital-level care to more than 39,000 older patients across the state, in the comfort of their own home and without the stress of a traditional hospital stay.
- Strengthening discharge planning and to support older people to transition well from hospital to aged care despite the challenges arising from Commonwealth stranded patients, there have been improvements in emergency department performance and the number of people accessing care outside of the hospital.
The NSW Government will also continue to work constructively with the Commonwealth Government and all states and territories through the Hospital Discharge Joint Taskforce and Health Ministers Meeting, recognising this challenge goes past state boundaries and requires collective national action.
Quotes attributable to Minister for Health Ryan Park:
"I would like to thank the NSW Productivity and Equality Commissioner, Peter Achterstraat AM, and the broader Commission team for the significant work undertaken over the past year to examine this issue and deliver a comprehensive, high-quality report.
"The Commonwealth Government is responsible for the provision of aged care and NDIS placements, yet this report shows that this duty is not being met and thousands of hospital beds will be lost as a result.
"The report also warns that any state action needs to complement, not replace, the Commonwealth's responsibility for aged care.
"We cannot continue to wait for the Commonwealth Government to deliver on its aged care responsibilities because too many people are already stranded in our hospitals and they deserve better.
"That's why today we are announcing the Minns Labor Government will provide interim aged care services to help older stranded patients return from hospital to the comfort of home more quickly and safely, as part of a broader effort to get people the care they need and deserve, while unlocking hospital beds for those who need them the most."
