There are currently 133 stranded patients waiting for Commonwealth aged care and NDIS placements in hospitals across the Illawarra Shoalhaven Local Health District.
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 133 stranded patients across the District includes:
- 19 patients in Wollongong Hospital
- 9 patients in Shoalhaven Hospital
- 29 patients in Shellharbour 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 Illawarra Shoalhaven 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 51.2 per cent compared to four years ago (35.4 per cent in 2022 under the Liberals).
Hospitals which have improved the proportion of triage category 2 patients treated on time compared to four years ago include:
- Wollongong - 55.2 per cent compared to 36 per cent under the Liberals
- Shoalhaven - 39 per cent compared to 20.5 per cent under the Liberals
- Shellharbour - 57.9 per cent compared to 42.1 per cent under the Liberals
The overall proportion of patients across the District being treated on time improved in the April to June 2026 quarter to 69.4 per cent compared to four years ago (56.5 per cent in 2022 under the Liberals).
Ramping at Illawarra Shoalhaven hospitals has also improved in the April to June 2026 quarter with transfer of care from paramedics to the ED increasing to 82.8 per cent compared to four years ago (57.2 per cent in 2022 under the Liberals).
Hospitals which have improved the proportion of patients transferred from paramedics to ED staff within 30 minutes compared to four years ago include:
- Wollongong - 88.2 per cent compared to 56.5 per cent under the Liberals
- Shoalhaven - 65.3 per cent compared to 44.1 per cent under the Liberals
- Shellharbour - 89 per cent compared to 72.3 per cent under the Liberals
Across the District, the number of triage 4 semi-urgent patients has decreased from around 16,100 four years ago under the Liberals to just below 12,700 in the April to June 2026 quarter. The number of triage 5 non-urgent patients has decreased from around 3,000 in the April to June 2022 quarter under the Liberals to around 1,800.
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 Illawarra, this means more than 130 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 Wollongong Paul Scully:
"Patient care is improving and waiting times are decreasing at Wollongong Hospital as a direct result of the initiatives put in place by the Minns Labor Government.
"Increased staffing alongside investments in equipment, facilities and services outside hospital settings are delivering better care for patients.
"There is more work to do but with key infrastructure such as the Warrawong Community Health Centre to be completed soon this will continue to improve outcomes for patients."
Quotes attributable to Member for Shellharbour Anna Watson:
"Here in Shellharbour, we are seeing real improvements, with 57.9 per cent of life-threatening category 2 patients now being treated on time, compared with 42.1 per cent four years ago, while 89 per cent of patients arriving by ambulance are being transferred to emergency department staff within 30 minutes."
"Our local doctors, nurses, paramedics and health workers are doing an incredible job, and the NSW Government is continuing to invest in more staff, more beds and better services. We need the Commonwealth system to keep pace so patients can receive the right care, in the right place, and hospital beds are available for people who need hospital treatment."
Quotes attributable to Member for Heathcote Maryanne Stuart:
"Behind every figure is a patient and family waiting for the right care. No one should be stuck in hospital because an aged-care or NDIS placement is unavailable.
"When I became the Member for Heathcote, I was shocked by how neglected our hospital system had become. The quarterly report from the Bureau of Health Information shows we are turning the tide, with real improvements at Wollongong Hospital.
"We need urgent Commonwealth action to move patients into appropriate care, while we continue rebuilding the health system our community deserves."
Quotes attributable to Member for South Coast Liza Butler:
"I'm delighted to see the number of life-threatening patients treated on time increase from 20.5% to 39% while Ambulance transfers within 30 minutes have risen from 44.1% to 65.3%.
"Thank you to every Shoalhaven Hospital worker delivering these improvements under enormous pressure.
"While this progress is encouraging, nine stranded NDIS and Commonwealth aged care patients urgently need suitable accommodation. The Commonwealth must ensure aged care and NDIS placements are available when patients leave hospital."
