There are currently 174 stranded patients waiting for Commonwealth aged care and NDIS placements in hospitals across the Hunter, increasing from 138 stranded patients at 30 June 2025 (up 36 or 26 per cent).
Across the state, the number of stranded patients surged in NSW hospitals from 1,065 to 1,355 (up 290 or 27.2 per cent), between 30 June 2025 and 30 June 2026.
The 174 stranded patients across the Hunter New England Local Health District includes:
- 19 patients in Calvary Mater Newcastle
- 26 patients in John Hunter Hospital
- 20 patients in Maitland Hospital
- 19 patients in Manning Base Hospital
The NSW Government is working with the Commonwealth to expand services helping older people remain well and safely at home, reducing avoidable hospital presentations and admissions. These initiatives include:
- Expanding Aged Care Outreach Services (ACOS) to provide short-term multidisciplinary care in the home to avoid unnecessary hospitalisations
- Rolling out Virtual Specialist Geriatric Care which delivers specialist geriatric support to people aged 65 years and over at home, helping to avoid hospital admissions and supporting earlier discharge where appropriate
The NSW Government also has an Aged Care Response Package, which includes $35.7 million to deliver much-needed relief for older people experiencing discharge delays.
Hospital performance
Despite these challenges, there have been improvements in emergency department performance and the number of people accessing care outside of the hospital.
Across the Hunter New England Local Health District, the proportion of triage category 2 patients - people with life threatening conditions - being treated on time improved in the April to June 2026 quarter to 64.4 per cent compared to the same quarter last year (56.2 per cent).
The overall proportion of patients across the District being treated on time improved in the April to June 2026 quarter to 68.5 per cent compared to the same quarter last year (64.8 per cent).
More hospitals, more beds, more staff, more services
This improvement in performance coincides with an increased uptake of alternative pathways to care outside of the hospital, including Healthdirect, the expansion of virtual care services across NSW with $124m invested for urgent care services; over $500m invested into ED relief; more beds and the recruitment of more health workers including over 900 nurses, 740 paramedics, 1,400 doctors and 1,500 allied health workers over the past three years.
And the NSW budget is investing $10.3 billion to help recruit an additional 9,000 health workers, deliver record pay rises for nurses and midwives, expand services, including 33,000 more emergency department (ED) presentations and an additional 2,900 planned surgeries per year, as well as $11.9 billion to deliver 32 new and upgraded hospitals and more than 2,500 additional beds and treatment spaces across the state, including over 800 in Western Sydney.
Quotes attributable to Minister for Health Ryan Park:
"The number of people waiting for Commonwealth aged care and NDIS placements stranded in NSW hospitals is growing at an unprecedented and unsustainable level.
"In the Hunter, this means more than 170 beds in public hospitals cannot be used as a result.
"Waiting indefinitely in a hospital is not good for patient mobility, recovery or quality of life. These people are more than statistics, and they deserve so much better.
"Despite these challenges, we are continuing to see progress in emergency department wait times which has coincided with a significant investment from the Minns Labor Government into ED relief - and I want to thank our health workers for their hard work and commitment to our health system."
Quotes attributable to Member for Maitland Jenny Aitchison:
"Having 20 people stuck in Maitland Hospital waiting for Commonwealth aged care or NDIS placements puts pressure on beds that should be available for patients who need hospital care.
"These are people who are ready to leave hospital, but cannot because the appropriate support or placement simply is not there.
"That is not fair on those patients, their families or the hardworking staff at Maitland Hospital who are doing everything they can to provide the best possible care.
"The Minns Labor Government is continuing to invest in more staff, more beds and more services, but we need the Commonwealth aged care and NDIS systems to work so people can move into the right care when they are ready."
Quotes attributable to Member for Charlestown Jodie Harrison:
"With a higher proportion of people over 65 and people with a disability in the Hunter, bed block is challenge for us.
"That's why it's pleasing to see the Minns Labor Government working with the Federal Government to provide Aged Care Outreach Services and Virtual Specialist Geriatric Care.
"Our NSW Government is also using as many different solutions to relieve pressure on our hospitals and emergency departments so people don't end up in hospital in the first place.
"The work is starting to pay off, and that's good news for our locals who want easy, timely access to quality public health care."
Quotes attributable to Member for Port Stephens Kate Washington:
"No one should be stuck in a hospital bed simply because the right aged care support isn't available.
"Our local health workers do an incredible job, but we need the Commonwealth aged care system to keep pace and ensure older people can get the right care, in the right place."
Quotes attributable to Member for Cessnock Clayton Barr:
"The data tells an obvious story. Our hospitals are doing plenty of fantastic work but for people requiring longer term health care, in a non-hospital setting, the service is not where it needs to be.
"Having people that need long term care solutions stuck in our hospital beds is not good for the patient, not good for staff and ultimately stops the hospital system from working the way it should work."
