Aged care steps in as WA hospitals struggle to discharge
Tim said around 20% of participants may be able to return home with the right short-term support, while most will transition into residential aged care.
A new hospital transition pathway is rolling into Western Australia’s South West, with regional Not For Profit Capecare in Busselton joining the WA Government’s Time to Think program – a model designed to move older patients out of acute beds sooner.
Time to Think provides short-term places in aged care homes for people who are medically fit for discharge but cannot yet return safely to their previous living arrangements.
Instead of remaining in hospital while decisions and services are arranged, participants transfer into the aged care setting where staff can stabilise and coordinate longer-term options.
Capecare will dedicate 18 beds at its Busselton campus, 223km south of Perth, to the initiative, taking the statewide program to 87 short-term places across WA aged care homes. The program launched in May this year.
The expansion comes as pressure on WA hospitals persists. The Australian Medical Association’s WA ambulance ramping snapshot shows 4,401 hours of ramping were recorded in November 2025, slightly down from 4,432 hours in October, and below 4,848 hours in November 2024.
The past two months followed a record-breaking run in July (7,012 hours), August (7,060) and September (7,274).
Capecare CEO Tim Nayton said the organisation had already been delivering a precursor model through the WA Government’s Residential Respite Pilot.
“We witnessed first-hand the importance and value of supporting local hospitals, and individuals while they plan longer-term care arrangements,” he stated.
“It is an important program in the broader model of health management, helping to free up public hospital beds, particularly in the South West where they are at such a premium.”
Tim told The Weekly SOURCE that experience to date suggests around 20% of participants may be able to return home with the right short-term support, while most will transition into residential aged care.
Capecare joins other participating providers including Hall & Prior, which is operating 35 Time to Think beds, and Amana Living, which is operating 34 beds.
