Queensland's Health Minister, Tim Nicholls, has demanded the Federal Government invest more in building aged care beds in the state, after data revealed there were 783 older patients in its hospitals ready to be discharged, with more than 500 waiting for residential aged care.
Queensland's Health Minister
Long-stay patients waiting for an aged care bed are costing the State Government $443 million annually.
“One of the things we can’t control is the availability of aged care housing," said the Health Minister,.
“Now, make no mistake about it, this is a Commonwealth responsibility.
“They receive the taxes from taxpayers in Queensland to provide that funding, and they are failing, and it’s causing enormous problems in our health and hospital systems.”
The Weekly SOURCE wrote in December last year, on any given night in Winter in the NSW Illawarra region more than 150 people occupy a hospital bed who should be residing in aged care.
