Senate Community Affairs Legislation Committee, , 6:32:12 to 6:37:19
Discussion on "bed block" where patients remain in hospital due to lack of aged care availability, and the role of transition care (step-down) facilities.
Topics: Health, Social services
Speakers: Senator Malcolm Roberts, Ms Sonja Stewart, Ms Kate Berry, Mr Blair Comley, Unknown Speaker
Okay, this is to do with uh bed blocks. My question relates to an issue. The one nation members of parliament are receiving significant complaints about bed block. Catholic Health Australia have advised the number of days patients who are ready for discharge but uh kept in hospital because uh an aged care bed is not available has increased from 286,050 in 2021 to 460,000, 122 in 2023, 24. Do you have any later data?
So, Senator, we don't have data that is consistently collected across the country at the moment. Um each state and territory collects it in accordance with different parameters, but we have recently agreed, health ministers have agreed to a national definition that will enable us to collect that data consistently and give us a much better sense of the issues driving delayed discharge in order for all jurisdictions to respond as best they can.
Great to hear. I love data. Okay, bed block results from two main areas. I'm just checking here. People who were in hospital have recovered sufficient to return to aged care or go into aged care, and the bed does not exist. I understand the problem here can be that aged care facilities lack the medical facilities to take many aged care patients. So it's not so much the bed doesn't exist, it's that the aged care facilities can't accept the patient. The answer to that is step-down facilities, which is my next question. Is that uh correct so far?
Absolutely. So the needs or care requirements of the older person absolutely drive uh the receiving care that they require. Um, for those people that have complexity, um, sometimes it takes a little bit longer to find an appropriate bed for that person.
Thank you.
Just further to that, um, there when you were talking about um a step-down level of care, so um the Commonwealth government does fund transition care program, so 75% of that is funded by the Commonwealth, 25% provided um by states and territory governments, so that refers to that um what you were categorizing as that step-down.
Yeah, yeah, thank you. Step-down facilities are an important part of the jigsaw. What's the cost of a patient in a hospital versus in a step-down facility, typically or on average? I know you haven't got the data, but what would the typical cost be? Hospital compared with step-down.
I mean, we we could we could work, we could work that out and take that on notice. I mean, I think I think it is important though that if somebody is so unwell that clinically they need to be in hospital, that is the best place for them. I don't know, um CMO, do you know those average? You probably don't know transition care, but have you got any comment on this?
Um it's uh it's a complex issue because as I know you know, every case is different, and the needs of each person uh is different as well.
Thank you. How many step-down facilities are under construction? Could you please please provide the location, the cost, the beds count, and services to be offered on notice is fine. Is that possible?
Yes, so um we we call them transition care places, so um we will be able to find that we can.
Transition is better than step-down, isn't it?
Beg your pardon?
Transition is a better term than step down, I'd agree with that.
As long as we both sort of understand what it is that we're talking relatively well. Yeah, we will feel that.
I'd also just like to add um we will take that on notice, but there's transitional care places that we might partially fund. It's also the case that some states and territories are putting in place solutions of their own that I think would fit the sort of concept you have in mind of step-down facilities. So we'll so we'll see what we can do to collate that, but I do know that some of that is in um state by state and the chief medical officers from South Australia. There's there's quite a lot of activity there to have some step-down facilities which the state government is funding them specifically.
Okay. So what you're saying is I interpret it, my understanding is that your data will be the best available, but then maybe some states data amid it. Okay, thank you. Transition facilities, step-down facilities provide a lower stress clinical environment, perfectly suited for student placements, transitional programs, and nurses are allowed health professionals looking to regain their practical practising certificates. Skilled migrant medical professionals are perfect for these centres, it seems. Is there an actual coordinated program to encourage and supervise these places to assist the skilling of our health system, including of new skilled migrant arrivals in these facilities? Is there a plan or a strategy?