The number of patients stuck in Qld hospital beds has climbed to 1,400
Around three-quarters of patients stuck in Queensland hospital beds are elderly, but just 26 residential aged care beds were added to the system last financial year.
As of April 2025, Queensland's hospitals have seen a significant increase in the number of patients stuck in beds awaiting discharge to aged care or NDIS placement, with 1,400 individuals currently in this situation. Health Minister Tim Nicholls has implored the federal government to tackle this growing issue, which is set to be a key topic at a meeting of state and territory health ministers on Friday.
The situation has worsened compared to the previous year, when there were over 1,100 patients in this predicament. Queensland's healthcare system is estimated to lose more than $3 million daily due to "bed block," a term used to describe patients who cannot be discharged due to a lack of suitable accommodation. Queenslanders have the right to a health system that functions effectively, and it is time for the Commonwealth to meet its responsibilities and ensure these individuals receive the support they need, said Nicholls.
He highlighted a case where a patient had been waiting for discharge for over a thousand days and another 15 individuals for more than seven hundred days. A net increase of just 26 residential aged care beds occurred in Queensland in the year to June 2025, which is a meager 0.06 percent rise in the number of beds available. Shadow Attorney-General Meaghan Scanlon urged the Commonwealth to collaborate with the state government in investing in aged care, stating that hospitals across the state have been delayed, and the government needs to bear responsibility as well.
Written by urgent.news from ABC News AU's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
