Enquiry about older people face delay discharge from hospital

Ageing Australia welcomes delayed hospital discharge enquiries

Ageing Australia welcomes the establishment of joint enquiries into older people facing delayed discharge from hospitals by state and Federal Governments. A new national hospital discharge joint taskforce will look at ways to improve outcomes for older patients, while a separate enquiry by the NSW Productivity Commission will recommend ways of reducing discharge delays, improving access to care and relieving pressure on hospitals.

“Too often, older people are being left to languish in hospital far longer than necessary. But the solutions to this problem are constantly oversimplified, which makes real progress impossible,” Ageing Australia CEO Tom Symondson said. “Hospitals are excellent at providing critical emergency care when a person has a fall at home or suffers from a stroke. But they are not a good place for older people to be long term. We see many people who entered hospital relatively healthy rapidly lose their ability to live independently because of the impacts of being left in bed, loneliness and constant noise and disruption. Every day they are in hospital exponentially increases the risk they will never be able to return home.”

“On top of this, many older patients cannot be cared for in residential care because their clinical needs are far beyond what we can deliver – a day in hospital is funded ten times more than a day in residential care. Add to this the chronic shortage of residential beds across the nation and the enormous waiting list for homecare packages, and even those with relatively low needs find themselves stuck. With a rapidly ageing population, making sure older people have the right care in the right setting must become a priority for all governments. Only by states, the Commonwealth, hospitals and aged care providers working together can we find solutions. We welcome the joint enquiries which we hope will shine a much needed light on this wicked problem and are ready to assist in any way we can,” Mr Symondson said.