There are approximately 550 patients in NSW hospitals every day who could be discharged, but are not.

NSW hospital patients ready to be discharged and looking to move into residential aged care are remaining in hospital due to a shortage of available aged care beds in remote rural areas, the Sydney Morning Herald reported.

Patients seeking disability support are also staying in hospital due to a lack of available services.

In the six months from December 2021 to June 2022, the number of patients in regional hospitals waiting to be discharged to an aged care facility nearly tripled.

The NSW Government has set up an inquiry to look at how the health system operates. To date, it has received more than 200 submissions. A submission from the Western Local Health District, which covers Lightning Ridge, Cobar, Bourke, Dubbo, Orange and Bathurst, said many small towns have no access to home support and aged care providers are closing.

“National aged care reforms, long-standing viability concerns and chronic workforce shortages have all contributed to these challenges,” NSW Health’s submission said.

NSW is not the only state to be experiencing so-call ‘bed blocking’. Last week, The SOURCE reported that the Queensland Government will spend $200 million purchasing private aged care beds, among other measures, to help reduce the number of long-stay patients in public hospitals.