South Australian Health Minister Chris Picton has told State Parliament:
“In August 2022, there was an average of 88 patients each day in our metropolitan public hospitals and care awaiting placement beds,” he said, as Adelaide Now has reported.
“They were well enough to be discharged but were waiting for placement in an aged care facility. But as of this week, that number has risen to 175.”
“Being in hospital is not a good outcome for these people, and not a good outcome for the person who needs that hospital bed,” he said.
The Health Minister said there has been a 30% reduction in available temporary beds. He will hold an Aged Care Roundtable later this month to try to find a solution, but said there was only so much he could do as aged care is a federal matter.
A report released earlier this year by the AMA, ‘Hospital exit block, a symptom of a sick health system’, revealed some hospital patients are waiting years for a bed in residential aged care. In 2020-21, 286,050 patient days were attributed to patients waiting in hospital for a place in residential aged care.
The SOURCE: ‘Bed blocking’ will only get worse with only 1,000 new beds being built each year compared to 8,000 required per year for the near future demand.
