Two NSW hospitals offline with patients ready for non-existent aged care beds

NSW Health Minister Ryan Park says the “bed block” crisis has effectively taken two hospitals offline in his state – the equivalent of Westmead and Mount Druitt hospitals – as patients who are medically ready to leave remain stuck waiting for Commonwealth-funded aged care or disability supports.

Park made the claim on ABC last week before State and Territory health ministers rejected the Albanese Government’s latest hospital funding offer at talks in Brisbane on Friday.

Ahead of the meeting, the States and Territories published fresh “stranded patient” figures – putting the national total at around 3,000 older and disabled people occupying public hospital beds because they cannot access residential aged care, in-home supports or NDIS-funded alternatives.

States say the number has risen sharply since September, strengthening their argument the funding deal must clearly recognise bed block as a significant load on acute hospitals.

Health Minister Mark Butler spent last Friday in media overdrive – radio, TV and doorstops – insisting the Commonwealth’s offer is “very generous” and describing the crisis as a whole-of-system pressure point driven by demographics as the oldest Baby Boomers turn 80.

He also argued states must provide more granular data on patient needs – including higher dementia acuity – to design targeted interim solutions while new aged care supply is built – though the number of new beds under construction remains a question mark.

So what happens next? A Prime Minister-Premiers meeting is expected before Christmas to “crunch” the remaining issues, including the growth cap and disability reforms bundled into the negotiation.

Butler has also flagged a real deadline: if a deal isn’t landed before South Australia enters caretaker mode in late February, he acknowledged that implementing a new agreement by 1 July will be difficult –with Canberra preparing “fallback options” if talks collapse.