Stranded patients are patients who remain in hospital despite being clinically ready for discharge, which can lead to worse health outcomes with flow-on social and economic impacts to their families. NSW and other states and territories have recently seen a large increase in patients stranded in public hospitals, with associated costs growing rapidly. Demand for aged care is increasing, and many stranded patients are older people awaiting aged care services or placement in a residential aged care facility. While state governments are responsible for the public hospital system, the Australian Government is responsible for funding and regulating the aged care sector. The NSW Minister for Health has asked the NSW Productivity and Equality Commissioner to review policy, regulatory and system levers to address the delayed discharge of older patients from NSW public hospitals.
The purpose of the review is to better understand why older people who are clinically ready for discharge remain in NSW public hospitals and to identify what the NSW Government can do to reduce discharge delays for this cohort. The Commissioner will undertake targeted consultations with stakeholders as part of the review, with a final report provided to Government by October 2026.
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