As of 30 June 2026, there were 63 stranded patients waiting for Commonwealth aged care and NDIS placements in hospitals across Northern NSW.
This includes:
- 18 patients in Tweed Valley Hospital
- 8 patients in Grafton Base Hospital
- 7 patients in Ballina District Hospital
- 5 patients in Murwillumbah District Hospital
- 4 patients in Lismore Base Hospital
The NSW Government is investing $35.7 million into an Aged Care Response Package, to deliver much-needed relief for older people experiencing discharge delays.
The NSW Government is also 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
Hospital performance
Despite these challenges, there have been improvements in emergency department's performance and the number of people accessing care outside of the hospital.
Across the Northern NSW 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 76.8 per cent compared to four years ago (66 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:
• Murwillumbah - 74.6 per cent compared to 63.6 under the Liberals.
Tweed Valley - 81 per cent compared to 69.9 under the Liberals • Lismore - 80.5 per cent compared to 68.8 under the Liberals
• Ballina - 54.5 per cent compared to 50.3 under the Liberals
• Grafton - 83.8 per cent compared to 67.9 under the Liberals
The overall proportion of patients across the District being treated on time improved in the April to June 2026 quarter to 79.4 per cent compared to four years ago (69.1 in 2022 under the Liberals).
Ramping at Northern NSW hospitals has also improved in the April to June 2026 quarter with transfer of care from paramedics to the ED increasing to 86.4 per cent compared to four years ago (75 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:
• Murwillumbah - 97.2 per cent compared to 94.4 under the Liberals
• Tweed Valley - 82.1 per cent compared to 70 under the Liberals
• Lismore - 88.2 per cent compared to 63.2 under the Liberals
• Ballina - 87.9 per cent compared to 85.2 under the Liberals
Across the District, the number of triage 4 semi-urgent patients has decreased from around 22,300 four years ago under the Liberals to around 20,400 in the April to June 2026 quarter.
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.
The Minns Labor Government's 2026-27 Budget also delivered a record boost of $10.3 billion to help recruit an additional 9,000 health workers, deliver record pay rises for nurses and midwives, and expand services, 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.
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 Northern NSW, this means more than 60 beds in NSW 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 Minister for the North Coast and Member for Lismore Janelle Saffin:
"On the North Coast, we look out for one another, and ensuring our older residents and NDIS participants receive the right care in the right setting is a huge priority for our community.
"Right now, our local health staff are providing dedicated care to 63 patients who are transitioning into aged care and NDIS support. They are doing a fantastic job supporting these residents while continuing to drive real improvements across Tweed, Murwillumbah, Lismore, Ballina, and Grafton.
"By expanding local initiatives like virtual geriatric care and home outreach, we're helping more local seniors stay healthy, independent, and supported right at home - where they want to be."
