Lengthy wait for aged care beds

Thirty per cent of people assessed as requiring residential aged care are waiting more than three months before they are admitted to a bed, the latest statistics from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare show.

Thirty per cent of  people assessed as requiring residential aged care are waiting more than three months before they are allocated a bed, new figures from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare show.

The lengthy waiting times, often in times of crisis, point to the failure of the rationed aged care system to keep pace with the level of demand from an ageing population. This is despite nearly 50 per cent growth in the number of aged care beds and community care packages in the 10 years to 2012.

At June 2012 there were nearly 253,000 government-subsidised aged care places, accounting for $12.9 billion of government spending.

As expected,  most of the growth in aged care places has been in community-based care. AIHW spokesperson Dr Pamela Kinnear said there was now one community care place for every three residential aged care places, compared with one for every four in 2008.

The AIHW figures released today also confirm the consolidation of the sector into fewer but larger aged care services.

At 30 June 2012, 47 per cent of facilities had 61 or more places, more than double the proportion a decade earlier, Dr Kinnear said.

In 2012, 21 per cent of community care places were for high-level care, and this has gradually increased since 2002 when high-level community care was introduced.

The typical age of clients in community care packages was 83, about 3 years younger than clients in permanent residential aged care.

Women outnumbered men by more than two to one in both community and residential aged care, and about one in three aged care recipients were born overseas.

Dr Kinnear said over 30 per cent of people receiving extended care at home remained on the package until they died.

Due to the earlier onset of aged-related illnesses, 38 per cent of Indigenous community aged care package recipients were aged 65 or under, compared with 4 per cent for non-Indigenous recipients in the same age group.

Fast facts:

  • Over 50 per cent of permanent residents in aged care facilities had a diagnosis of dementia
  • Just under 50 per cent of admissions for residential aged care over 2011–12 were for short term respite care
  • 80 per cent of permanent residents aged 65 or older were classified as requiring high-level care, but among residents aged under 65, the proportion requiring high-level care was 87 per cent.

Read the full release of statistics at the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare’s website

Tags: aihw, community-care, residential-aged-care, waiting-lists,

2 thoughts on “Lengthy wait for aged care beds

  1. Can you actually point the link to the page where you have found this statistic about 30% of people waiting 3 months for a bed? I’d really like to see where you got this stat from, without having to spend ages clicking through this report..

  2. Hi Alexandra – if you click on the link and scroll down you can see it (3rd illustrated statistic):

    “7 in 10 people approved through the Aged Care Assessment Program for government-subsidised residential aged care were admitted within 3 months of approval.”

    Thanks,
    Darragh O’Keeffe

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