One in three Australians over 85 lives with dementia. That’s not an emerging challenge – it’s here now. And for aged care providers, the funding model isn’t keeping up.

Across the country, hospitals are holding older Australians with high-level dementia for weeks after they’re medically ready to leave – because the right care just isn’t available.

At the recent IHACPA conference, Taylor Fry’s data on trends in Australian public hospitals (see below) revealed:

• A 42% increase in episodes of older patients waiting for care