Queensland Patients Stuck in Hospital Beds Rise to 1,400

More than 1,400 people were waiting in Queensland hospital beds in April for an aged-care or NDIS placement, a rise from just over 1,100 a year earlier. About three-quarters were older patients.

Queensland Health Minister Tim Nicholls renewed pressure on the Commonwealth before a meeting of health ministers later this week. He said responsibility for funding the group, which he called “stranded Australians”, rested with the federal government.

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Queenslanders deserve a health system that delivers, not one that leaves people stuck in a hospital bed, stranded, stuck and waiting for support.

“Queenslanders deserve a health system that delivers, not one that leaves people stuck in a hospital bed, stranded, stuck and waiting for support,” Nicholls said. He added that the state was meeting its responsibilities and would continue holding the Commonwealth accountable.

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We're meeting our responsibilities. It's time for the Commonwealth to meet their responsibilities, and until they do, we'll continue to hold them accountable.

The state estimates that patients unable to leave hospital are costing Queensland more than A$3 million each day. Nicholls said one patient had spent more than 1,000 days in hospital waiting for discharge, while 15 others had been stranded for more than 700 days.

The Commonwealth said it had proposed ring-fencing A$2 billion for aged-care services during hospital funding negotiations. According to a federal spokesperson, the states and territories rejected that offer and chose to direct the money into their hospital systems instead.

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There is a flow-on effect to those patients who are needing to come in through frontline services in our emergency departments.

Australian Medical Association Queensland president Erica Gannon called for more federal action. She said bed block affects emergency departments, ambulance ramping and the care of patients who need to enter the system. Prolonged hospital stays can also distress patients, particularly those with dementia, and expose them to hospital-acquired infections.

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It is certainly distressing for those patients who are in hospital for a prolonged period of time.