Tasmanian Premier Jeremy Rockliff (pictured) has called on the Federal Government to help address the issue of “bed blocking” in aged and NDIS care.
As of Saturday 6 August, there were 29 aged care patients currently medically ready for discharge in Tasmania’s hospitals, equating to $17 million per year in costs to the state’s health system. According to the Premier, barriers to discharge include residential aged care facilities not taking returning patients on the weekends or when GPs are unavailable.
“The number of patients who are currently medically cleared for discharge from our hospital – but who are unable to leave due to waiting for aged care accommodation or an NDIS package – represents the equivalent of two acute wards at the Royal Hobart Hospital, or half of the Mersey Community Hospital.
“While this type of bed block is not a new issue, it is particularly challenging as we navigate our way through the pandemic and the current wave which has seen a peak in COVID-related hospitalisations requiring acute care beds. In peak COVID periods, our hospitals need every spare acute bed that can be made available,” he said.
Mr Rockliff has written to Federal Health Minister Mark Butler and Disability Minister Bill Shorten to request help in keeping aged care and NDIS patients ready for discharge out of acute beds.
“Tasmania has asked the Commonwealth to consider paying for transitional care pathways as an interim measure, such as specially designated sub-acute transition wards that we establish, or by purchasing available transitional sub-acute bed space in private hospitals, while we work together to look at longer-term solutions around accommodation to speed up the safe transfer of the medically-ready to aged care and NDIS supported living arrangements,” he said.
The previous Morrison Federal Government last year provided $16.6 million for 357 temporary extra Transition Care Programme places around the country.
