Queensland Health and Ambulance Services Minister Tim Nicholls during a visit to Cooktown on the Cape last year. He’s pushing the Federal Government for more funding for aged and NDIS care in the community. Photo: Cape York Weekly.
Dozens of Far North Queensland aged care and NDIS patients have been languishing in the region’s public hospitals unnecessarily due to insufficient options for care in the community.
The latest Queensland Health data shows 88 aged care patients and 30 younger NDIS patients were stuck in Cairns and Hinterland Hospital and Health Service (CHHHS) facilities despite being clinically able to leave.
Another two aged care patients were in Torres and Cape Hospital and Health Service facilities out of a total 1437 aged and NDIS patients living in hospitals unnecessarily state-wide.
State Health and Ambulance Services Minister Tim Nicholls was due to speak to Federal Health Minister Mark Butler about the “stranded Australians” during a meeting last week.
“The Commonwealth’s aged care plan for Queensland remains unclear – we do not yet know how many additional places will be delivered across the state, where they will be located, or when they will become available,” Mr Nicholls said ahead of the meeting.
“This lack of clarity comes as the Commonwealth also proposes removing the higher private health insurance rebate available to Australians aged 65 and over.
“While the Commonwealth has modelled how many people may leave or downgrade their private health insurance, they have not clarified what this could mean for public hospital activity or costs.
“Older Australians are significant users of hospital services, including elective surgery, and require ongoing care for chronic conditions.
“Any shift in demand to the public system would add pressure to hospitals already managing growing demand and delayed discharge – a cohort that has tripled under the Albanese Government.”
Mr Butler has said the country needs to “open a new aged care home every three days for the next 20 years”. The Queensland Government has pointed to data showing there was an increase of just 26 residential aged care beds in the state between June 2024 and June 2025.
CHHHS chief executive Leena Singh said prolonged hospital stays put patients at significant risk and strained the broader healthcare system.
“On any given day, 110 to 160 long-stay patients occupy acute beds at Cairns Hospital – not because they need hospital-level care, but because of a lack of aged care places or supported accommodation in the community,” she said.
Cairns and Hinterland Hospital and Health Service chief executive Leena Singh. Photo: CHHHS/Facebook.
“For older Queenslanders, remaining at home for as long as possible supports positive mental health, preserves independence, helps prevent avoidable hospital admissions, and delays the need for residential aged care.
“No one wants to be in hospital if they do not need to be.
“While the Commonwealth recently announced 5000 new beds nationwide, the impact this will have on our region remains unclear.
“We hope that the Cairns and Hinterland region will be the recipient of many of these beds given the low availability of specialist residential aged care facilities that many in our community need.”
Mr Butler told the ABC in recent days there was “no easy fix” to ease healthcare demand and numbers were “simply unprecedented”.
“There are some natural constraints on what we can do, how quickly we can build new facilities. We are leaning in as much as we can,” he said.
CHHHS warned in a statement the state’s residents “will continue to be stranded in hospitals beds far longer than necessary” without more federal funding and the “demand for residential aged care projected to surge by 60 per cent over the next decade”.
“The reality is that long-stay patients affect every part of the health system — not only in our facilities, but across Queensland and nationally,” Ms Singh added.
“When beds are tied up, patients wait longer in emergency departments, ambulances wait longer to transfer patients, and hardworking frontline clinicians are stretched further.”
CHHHS has been trying to ease hospital pressures by improving patient movement through facilities, among other measures.
Ms Singh said improvements included opening the 45-bed Sub Acute Care Unit at Manoora in 2023, securing an agreement with Pyramid Aged Care Gordonvale to use 10 beds for long-stay hospital patients, as well as the ongoing expansion of Cairns Hospital.
CHHHS has also been strengthening partnerships with aged care and disability services to fast-track assessments, home support and NDIS/aged care applications, while establishing dedicated transition units.
“Cairns’ population is expected to rise by 72,000 people by 2050,” Ms Singh said.
The ongoing Cairns Hospital expansion will result in more beds for patients. Photo: Supplied.
“This, combined with our ageing population, means our older-person bed requirements at Cairns and Hinterland Hospital and Health Service are projected to grow by 56.5 per cent over the next 20 years.
“While we are doing everything we can to address local demand, it is clear more needs to be done at a national level to reduce this pressure on our public health services.”
The state plans to employ 46,000 more healthcare workers by 2032 and broaden alternatives to hospital admission, among other healthcare improvements.
Original Article published by Luke Mortimer on Region Tropical North Queensland.
