NSW to probe bed block, interstate taskforce established

A landmark inquiry will probe the fate of elderly patients stranded in NSW public hospitals, as Australia’s health ministers agree to establish an urgent interstate taskforce.

The NSW Productivity and Equality Commission will assess the cost and impact of the more than 900 patients waiting in hospital for aged care placements.

The six-month probe will recommend ways of reducing discharge delays, improving access to care, and relieving pressure on hospitals.

At the same time, a new national Hospital Discharge Joint Taskforce, co-led by the Commonwealth and NSW governments, will also help deliver policy and improve outcomes for patients following an agreement at most recent Health Ministers Meeting earlier this year.

NSW Health Minister Ryan Park told the media the inquiry would put “another set of eyes over a really wicked and challenging problem”.

“This is a massive challenge for us. It’s one of the biggest challenges facing health system right now, particularly as we’re heading to winter,” Mr Park said of the stranded patients, an occurrence which is also known as bed block.

Mr Park warned that, aside from nurse staffing, bed block from aged care patients was the “number one issue” impacting access at NSW’s hospitals.

“Every morning, when we wake up there’s about 1200 beds that are essentially not able to be utilised by people coming into the hospital … that is the equivalent of two busy and large hospitals in Sydney that essentially we can’t use,” Mr Park said.

“So, when someone comes to their local hospital, if their local health district has a large number of these beds used by patients, including aged care and NDIS patients who no longer need healthcare through the hospital system, then there’s a limited number of beds.

“We’re losing these beds to people who shouldn’t be there, not only shouldn’t be there for the system, but shouldn’t be there themselves.

“It’s not a good situation for them. It’s terrible for their family, because hospitals are never designed to be long-term places where people stay.”

The number of patients waiting for a Commonwealth aged care placement has more than double from 300 patients in December 2023 to 776 patients in 2025.

A February report found more than 3100 patients were still in hospital beds nationally by early 2026 and in NSW between February and April in NSW there were 922 patients.

“It’s increasing at a dramatic rate. It needs to be turned around quickly,” Mr Park said of the crisis.

“We need short-term solutions. We need medium and long-term solutions if we’re going to turn this problem around, because we are doing what we can in NSW.”

Mr Park said the state government was funding geriatric outreach – clinicians going into aged care settings to treat people – as well as ambulance paramedics going into nursing homes.

He said the review would examine what both the state and federal governments could do.

“We’re not asking them to run our emergency departments,” he said of the federal government.

“What we need help for is better supports for people to be able to leave hospital and go back into their aged care setting or back to home.”

Last month, federal Health Minister Mark Butler announced the Albanese government would spend $3bn to deliver more beds, packages and “better care for older Australians”.

Treatment of personal care services through the Support at Home program will also be made free of charge alongside other clinical care.

The Albanese government also clinched an 11th-hour deal with state and territory leaders to secure public hospital funding afters a years-long stalemate.

Mr Park said the funding was “welcome”.

“But, it’s not going to resolve the issue anytime soon,” he said.

“The numbers are increasing far, far too significantly for that to be able to be the solution.”