The number of NSW hospital patients unable to be discharged due to a lack of aged care beds has surged from 455 at the end of January to 685 as of 18 June – a rise of more than 50%.

A spokesperson for NSW Health told The Weekly SOURCE that the State Health Department continue to work closely with Federal Government partners to "enable greater access to aged care facilities and to support the primary care sector through a range of initiatives, which will ease pressure on its very busy public hospitals."

In May, a Special Commission of Inquiry into Healthcare Funding in NSW, led by Commissioner Richard Beasley, recommended the State Government step in to provide additional aged care beds when bed shortages impacted on hospital operations and care.

"I was shown numerous wards in public hospitals full of people who could and should otherwise be in an aged care facility if there was a bed available," the Commissioner said, noting that many of the wards were "crowded, lack natural light, and offer no communal spaces".

He also noted that having older patients waiting for aged care beds puts pressure on public hospital staff, who "did not sign up" to provide aged care services, including caring for patients with "problematic" dementia behaviours.

The Australian Medical Association (AMA) has estimated the cost of patients in hospital waiting for NDIS support or aged care can be as high as nearly $3,000 per day. Our back-of-envelope calculations put the total cost at more than $2 million per day – or more than $750 million annually.