Media release: SA needs an aged care plan

The call comes after the number of older South Australians stuck in public hospitals and other facilities waiting for a Commonwealth aged care placement surpassed 500 for the first time.

AMA SA President Associate Professor Peter Subramaniam says the time for simply identifying the problem has long passed.

'The South Australian Health Minister has rightly acknowledged that older South Australians deserve better, but articulating the problem, however accurately, is not the same as resolving it,’ A/Prof Subramaniam says.

‘Older patients stuck in hospital beds are not concerned about which level of government is responsible for the failings. They just want to know when they can be moved from hospital into accommodation that better meets their needs.

‘Governments at both the state and federal levels must now set out a joint plan, with clear targets and timelines, explaining how many aged care places are opening and when they will come online.’

The AMA’s Aged Care Report Card, released last month, confirmed that older South Australians face the longest wait in the nation for residential aged care, with an average wait of 295 days during the 2024–25 financial year.

Alarmingly, one in 10 of those approved for aged care waited 1,610 days, or almost four and a half years, before securing a place.

A/Prof Subramaniam says governments must ensure aged care places, as well as transition and complex-care places, open in sufficient numbers to meet the needs of South Australia’s growing population.

‘AMA SA supports the steps already taken by the Malinauskas Government, including transition care at Hampstead, College Grove and the Pullman, the $250 million aged care loan scheme, and the extra beds secured this week at Burnside Hospital and Lutheran Homes,’ A/Prof Subramaniam says.

‘These steps matter, but they are not keeping pace with the growing waiting list.’

‘We need a plan as a matter of urgency, or at the very least a realistic timeline for when that plan will be published, so patients, families and the health workforce understand how long the current situation is expected to last.’

AMA SA says the plan should include:

• South Australia’s share of the Commonwealth’s 5,000 annual aged care placements, with opening dates.
• Bed numbers and commencement dates under the $250 million loan scheme, prioritising patients referred from hospital, including those with dementia.
• A plan to scale State-run transition and complex-care capacity beyond the current 188 transition beds, with the workforce needed to staff it.
• A public target for reducing the number of older South Australians waiting in hospital, with interim milestones reported monthly, together with the reasons patients are waiting.

‘Every week without a plan, more older people wait in the wrong place, and more patients wait for the hospital beds they occupy.

‘This is not just an aged care issue. It affects the entire health system, and a clear plan is the first step towards ensuring older South Australians can receive the care they need while hospital beds are available for patients who need hospital care.’

AMA SA media contact: Ben Terry – 0478 847 604