Aged care crunch fuels record hospital pressure
Aged care shortages intensify hospital pressure
- Record hospital delays: Hundreds waiting in hospital for residential aged care placements
- Winter demand surges: WA ambulance ramping reached a record monthly high
- Governments back new beds: South Australia and Western Australia offer loan schemes
- Supply gap remains: Beds are still years away
Early signs show hospitals are under intense pressure in the first week of winter, as aged care bed shortages continue to leave older patients stranded.
In the week to 1 June 2026, 426 South Australians were in hospital well enough to be discharged, but waiting for a place in residential aged care, a record high, and a 12% increase in one week – see main image.
In Western Australia, ambulance ramping rose to a record monthly high in May. Ambulances spent 5,383 hours ramped outside the state’s public hospitals, an 11% increase on last May's figure and higher than during the COVID-19 pandemic. There are 366 patients in WA hospitals waiting on a bed in residential aged care – another record broken.
Both South Australia and Western Australia have announced no and low-interest loan schemes in efforts to build more aged care beds amid escalating demand and unprecedented pressure on hospitals.
South Australia promised a $250 million zero-interest loan scheme at the State election in March, but has not yet released the details.
WA Aged Care Minister Simone McGurk said the State Government is considering increasing its $100 million loan facility for new aged care construction. Applications closed in February and were expected to be announced in May, but at the time of publishing grant recipients had not been announced.
Shadow Health Minister Libby Mettam said record ramping has become a “new normal” in WA. The WA Government “has had years to prepare for growing demand” yet patients and health workers are “once again heading into winter under enormous pressure”.
In February, the WA Government also outlined a $140 million Winter Strategy 2026, aimed at preparing the state’s health system for the colder months.
A report on supply and demand for aged care published last month showed WA will require between approximately 1,600 and 2,700 new aged care beds by 2030 - the equivalent of up to 27 new facilities within four years.
Both Perth and Adelaide, along with NSW’s Illawarra and Hunter regions, have been targeted for the Federal Government's latest round of Aged Care Capital Assistance Program grants, worth $115 million.
Adelaide and the Illawarra were targeted in the first round of projects, and Expressions of Interest are now open for the second tranche, targeting Perth and the Hunter.
The Federal Government also announced $3.7 billion for aged care in the Federal Budget, including incentives aimed at building 5,000 new beds annually.
But beds built under these schemes are still years away. In the meantime, the shortage of aged care beds around the country today looks set to continue driving record-breaking pressure on hospitals this winter.
