NSW Health Minister: 50% more hospital patients should be in aged care and NDIS

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, with State Health Ministers standing proudly behind him, in January announced record funding for public hospitals.

Yet the blame game that preceeded the record funding announcement, remains as ever.

NSW Health Minister Ryan Park on Wednesday claims its hospitals are filled with "stranded patients" - those discharged but cannot find placement in an aged care bed or in a mental health facility.

In the past 12 months, the number of patients in NSW public hospitals ready to be discharged but waiting for aged care has almost doubled from 438 to 776.

The Health Minister said the improvements in the health system are being "offset" by "bed block".

“I am so grateful for the additional help and assistance our federal colleagues announced last week, but there is more work to be done," he said.

"We can't have a situation where we're seeing 50% more patients languishing in our hospitals because they can't get access to an aged care bed or they can't get NDIS support."

The Minister highlights the wrost areas for bed block:

• The number of stranded patients in Western Sydney has almost doubled, with the number of stranded patients at Westmead Hospital more than doubling.
• The number of stranded patients in South West Sydney has increased by over 50%, with the number of stranded patients at Liverpool Hospital more than tripling.
• The number of stranded patients in the Illawarra South Coast has increased by almost 30%, with the number of stranded patients at Wollongong Hospital doubling.
• As at 31 December 2025, bed block was responsible for the loss of 67,680 bed days – up from 41,345 in December 2024 – meaning not only are stranded patients increasing in our hospitals, they’re also waiting longer.

The NSW Government's Healthcare Quarterly report for the December 2025 quarter, published by the Bureau of Health Information, reveals two records were broken during the quarter: ambulance calls at 408,518, and attendances in hospital emergency departments at 820,009.