Calls to help elderly 'stranded' in hospitals waiting for aged care bed

George Davis thought retirement would be the best time of his life. But the 80-year-old spends each day travelling 100 kilometres to sit by his wife, Petronella, in hospital. But Ms Davis is not sick. The 79-year-old has rapidly progressive dementia and is no longer able to be cared for in the home the couple has shared for 60 years. Ms Davis is a "stranded" patient, one of 1,000 people in Queensland taking up a public hospital bed while waiting for a more permanent care solution. On Sunday, Queensland Premier David Crisafulli and Health Minister Tim Nicholls called on the federal government to "take responsibility" for aged and disability care. Mr Nicholls said the federal government was "failing stranded Australians". "It's really important that we actually address this issue, and that the federal government steps up and takes responsibility for providing residential aged care facilities and a faster NDIS process for our younger patients." Mr Crisafulli said state and territory leaders "across the political divide" were calling on Canberra for a national solution. When Ms Davis's care needs became too much for her husband, she went into respite in her hometown of Childers, 400 kilometres north of Brisbane. But when an aged care bed became available at Forest View Care Childers, it was given to another patient from Gladstone, more than 200km north of the town. "I think it's wrong to send a local to a hospital in another town," Mr Davis said. Ms Davis has been sent to Bundaberg Hospital, 40 minutes away, until another residential aged care bed can be found. "I've heard some of the nursing homes have closed their books," Mr Davis said. "They just won't take any more names. The government doesn't seem to do anything about it." Hinkler MP David Batt said the current model for aged care was not working and the government needed to go back to the drawing board. "Those people that are from this area that have spent all their time here, they're pioneers of what this place looks like now," Mr Batt said. "They're the reason we have such a fantastic place, and then we're telling them they need to move on somewhere else to live on their own, no family support, no friends. "That's not how you should be able to finish your golden years. It's just not good enough." Hospital pressure Mr Nicholls said the current number of long-stay hospital patients was, on average, 10 per cent of residential care beds in Queensland, and 13 per cent in the Wide Bay. He said some patients were waiting 250 to 280 days in hospital, with one patient staying longer than 400 days. Mr Nicholls said people waiting in public hospitals for more appropriate care were costing Queensland $2.5 million a day. "That's money that is not being diverted into emergency departments or other surgeries that could be spent very, very much more wisely on delivering services," he said. Forest View Aged Care in Childers has 30 beds, and general manager Andrew Ainscough said he had unsuccessfully applied with the federal government five times for an additional 44 beds. "Locally, just in Childers, there's currently 397 people waiting on our wait list," Mr Ainscough said. "As a registered nurse and trying to coordinate care, in my 28 years of nursing, this is the hardest I've ever seen. Reforms on the way Funding for aged care is complex and multi-layered. Providers must get a licence from the federal government for an aged care bed. Part of the ongoing funding comes directly from the government through the Australian National Aged Care Classification (AN-ACC). Other funding is provided by the patient through a refundable deposit and a daily care fee, which varies from patient to patient. In 2018, a royal commission was announced to address non-compliance and failures within the sector. The final report, released three years later, made 148 recommendations, including funding based on need and stronger regulation and transparency. A new Aged Care Act came into effect on November 1, bringing with it an enhanced statement of rights for older Australians — a new code of conduct and changes to quality standards — intended to address system failures uncovered by the royal commission. The incoming reforms also fundamentally change the way older people pay for residential and out-of-home care. Mr Ainscough said the changes would be a hit to the budget. "Our bottom line was already struggling, but to run a business successfully under the new initiatives, we have to run the nursing homes very safely and very carefully," he said. "So that means that we run it like a business." He said the new system encouraged providers to give preferential placement to patients who attracted higher funding and were at lower risk of serious complications. In a speech on November 10, federal Aged Care and Seniors Minister Sam Rae praised the reforms, but said the work was not over. "Within a decade, one in five Australians will be over 65, so a key test for the system will be whether we can build enough high-quality accommodation to meet future demand," Mr Rae said. "For too long, aged care development has been held back by a system that hasn't rewarded new bed supply and has entrenched underinvestment." Mr Rae said in the past three years, $1 billion has been invested in the Aged Care Capital Assistance Program (ACCAP). ACCAP Round 3, announced in September 2025, allocated $300 million to support 66 infrastructure projects nationwide, expected to deliver 315 additional beds. It invested almost $65 million of that in Queensland. Mr Nicholls said the issue was raised by state and territory health ministers at a meeting with their federal counterpart, Mark Butler, in September in Perth. "It is a nationwide problem," he said. "Ground zero is here in Queensland, but the federal government must step up to the mark and must be able to provide the solutions that older Australians, in particular, deserve, expect and need." While nothing can be done for Ms Davis's condition, her husband said the burden of her care could be addressed. "I think it's about time the government woke up to themselves, and got in and did the right thing for people," Mr Davis said.