Tasmania seeks solution as aged care shortage bites

A shortage of aged care placements is being blamed for ongoing bed block at Launceston General Hospital (LGH), with the Tasmanian Government announcing a series of measures aimed at freeing up hospital beds and improving patient flow.

Tasmanian Health Minister Bridget Archer said long-stay patients are currently unable to leave the hospital as there is nowhere appropriate for them to go.

“There is no doubt that bed block continues to significantly impact access and flow, with 22 long stay patients currently stuck at the hospital – through no fault of their own - due to a lack of aged care and NDIS placements,” Ms Archer said.

The government is working with private provider Calvary to transfer some patients into its facilities as an immediate measure to ease demand at the hospital.

It has also announced plans for 20 additional aged care beds at the Launceston Health Hub, with construction already underway and expected to be completed early next year.

“As an immediate solution, we are working with Calvary to transfer these patients to their facilities, which will free up beds and ensure more people can be seen sooner,” Ms Archer said.

Federal Health and Ageing Minister Mark Butler this week acknowledged the scale of the challenge, saying demand for aged care is growing at an unprecedented rate.

“The demand for aged care now is skyrocketing at a rate we've never seen before in this country,” Mr Butler told ABC Central Victoria Breakfast.

“That's essentially just a product of mathematics.”

Mr Butler said Australia does not currently have enough residential aged care capacity and to meet future demand “we [would] have to open a new aged care facility every three days in Australia now for 20 years.”

The federal government has introduced measures in recent budgets to encourage providers to build additional facilities, but Mr Butler acknowledged more work is needed.

“We’re not there yet. I’ll just try to be honest about that. We’re not yet there, and I’m deeply concerned about that,” he said.

The growing shortage of aged care places is increasingly being felt across the broader health system, with hospitals often caring for patients who are medically ready for discharge but have nowhere appropriate to go.

Ms Archer argued the Commonwealth should contribute funding toward the additional step-down beds being established in Launceston, describing aged care placements as a federal responsibility.

“We will step in and fund additional beds because it’s in the best interests of Tasmanians but we shouldn’t have to,” she said.

Alongside the additional aged care beds, the Tasmanian government is continuing work on major LGH infrastructure projects, including the Northern Heart Centre, a new Mental Health Precinct and a planned expansion of the hospital’s emergency department.