NSW gov’t steps in to reduce number of patients stuck in hospital

A growing backlog of patients unable to leave NSW hospitals because they are waiting for Commonwealth-funded aged care or NDIS support has prompted the state government to step in and take action.

Almost 1300 hospital beds across the state are occupied by patients who cannot be discharged for these reasons.

“The NSW government is effectively subsidising the Commonwealth in its duty to provide aged care places,” Minister for Health Ryan Park said.

“The growth in the number of stranded Commonwealth aged care patients in our health system is unsustainable, and the Commonwealth has left the NSW government with no choice but to devise its own plan.”

The situation has worsened over the past year, with the number of stranded patients in NSW hospital beds increasing more than 46 per cent from 871 to 1279 between March 2025 to 2026.

Older patients waiting for an aged care placement surged almost 60 per cent to 948, while 348 people remained in hospital beds waiting for NDIS support, up about 20 per cent.

NDIS applications typically take an average of 56 days to be approved.

Aged care assessments can take about a month for urgent cases, and up to 11 months for standard applications.

“While the NSW government is pursuing its own plan to address bed block, this is by no means a signal to the Commonwealth that they are relieved of their responsibility to deliver aged care placements,” Minister Park said.

Discharge delays in the public health system prompted a NSW Productivity and Quality Commission Inquiry to review the situation – with recommendations due in November.

It will run alongside a national Hospital Discharge Joint Taskforce, co-led by the Commonwealth and NSW governments to improve outcomes for stranded patients due to delayed access to aged care and NDIS placements.

But the state government will now pursue its own strategy to address bed block across NSW public hospitals by providing more in-home care and patient referrals to community-based services.

In this year’s budget, the Federal government announced $3bn to deliver more aged care beds and better home care for older Australians.

Minister for Aged Care and Seniors Sam Rae said the funding would make sure the system was strong and fair enough to meet demand.