Candidly, Mary Baker has been through a lot in the last nine months. Her husband, Nick Baker, is now in hospital in Adelaide as he waits to be placed in aged care. Nick, who has advanced dementia, has been shuffled among at least seven different hospitals since last December. He is definitely not alone in this fight. Almost 2,500 aged public patients across the country are stuck in public acute hospitals, awaiting a federal government paid aged care bed.
This new normal has come at a breathtaking price — nearly $1 billion annually for taxpayers. The South Australian government plans to present a report on this pressing issue at an upcoming meeting of health ministers in Perth. In light of the ongoing pandemic, many states and territories are increasing their advocacy efforts. They are calling on the federal government to urgently act and address the worsening aged care crisis that is affecting Australian hospitals.
A Personal Struggle
For Mary Baker, who has experienced great disruption in her life by virtue of her husband’s long hospital stay, After living for some time with Nick’s parents in their family home in Goolwa, she sold their family home and moved to Adelaide to be closer to Nick. Before relocating, she made daunting 150 kilometer round trips three times a week just to see him.
“It’s difficult to see him in that scenario, that is more clinical than it would be otherwise,” Mary expressed. She lamented the state of the hospital surroundings, mentioning that it’s not like being at home where you have all of your comforts.
“It’s not a minor thing, it’s huge.” – Mary Baker
Mary obviously wants Nick to be transferred. She would like him moved into a residential aged care facility that includes a memory support unit. She hopes that once there, they will be able to enjoy moments together in a garden, reminiscent of better times.
A System Under Strain
The story of elderly patients like Nick Baker is a symptom of a national emergency. Health officials, too, have raised the alarm over the growing population of patients virtually homeless inside the walls of a hospital, care they cannot receive and long waiting times.
Chris Picton, a prominent advocate for reform, stated, “These people are effectively homeless, living in a hospital bed. Many of these patients are stuck like this for months, some even years. It’s a national tragedy.”
He underscored the colossal weight this crisis has on our healthcare system. “It’s not fair for them or the health system and it’s costing taxpayers nearly a billion dollars a year,” he added.
Ryan Park echoed these concerns, stating, “The notion of thousands of aged care and NDIS patients waiting in hospital longer than they need to be is not good for the hospital system, but most importantly, it’s very bad for these patients.” He further described the current state as “not sustainable” and “not the way our health system has been designed.”
Calls for Action
The federal government has finally taken action to meet the escalating crisis. Additional packages, each of which provides a combination of services customized to support older Australians in their own homes. In addition, the previous national cabinet meeting approved a $1.2 billion Strengthening Medicare Package paid for entirely by the Albanese government. Advocates say that this is just a short-term fix.
Rachel Stephen-Smith urged immediate governmental intervention: “We urge the Australian government to take immediate action to resolve this aged care bottleneck and restore capacity to our hospitals.” She pointed out that the time for making a difference on these systemic issues is urgent – elderly patients have been stuck in hospital beds too long.
States and territories are now waiting to see how the federal government will respond. In the meantime, the future looks grim for people such as Nick Baker. Mary Baker clings to hope that her husband will have a more stable living arrangement in the future. Her days-to-days are more complicated than that idyllic scope.
“I just take things day by day … it can be too exhausting if you’re hoping for something that may or may not eventuate.” – Mary Baker
