December 12, 2025 • 1 min
Australia's state and federal health ministers failed to reach agreement on hospital funding as more than 3,000 elderly patients remain stranded in hospital wards despite being medically fit for discharge.
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Speaker 1 (00:05):
The country's health ministers have failed to come up with
an agreement to fund hospitals as elderly patients become stranded
in wards waiting for aged care beds and NDIS support.
Our health editor Jennifer Beschwarti has the detas.
Speaker 2 (00:20):
Yes, good afternoon Well. The state health ministers have described
today's meeting in one word, frustrating. They were hoping for
at least an extra eight billion dollars to cover what
they say is an unacceptable bed block crisis where elderly
patients are languishing in public hospitals who are medically fit
for discharge but have nowhere to go because there are
(00:41):
no aged care beds available, the number now exceeding three
thousand according to the States, the equivalent of more than
three major hospitals blocked a third of that in Queensland,
eight hundred in New South Wales, two hundred and fifty
in Victoria, three fifty in South Australia three hundred in WA.
Many are stuck for months, even years.
Speaker 3 (01:02):
But they're effectively homeless, stuck in our hospital system. It
is also awful for other patients who need our hospital
system for emergency care, where those beds aren't available.
Speaker 4 (01:12):
It's very frustrating for all of us to have to
be coming back time and time again, saying this offer
is not acceptable.
Speaker 2 (01:19):
The Federal Health Minister Mark Butler says the meeting was
constructive but wouldn't commit to additional funding at this stage.
Speaker 5 (01:25):
One of the truisms of Australian politics, particularly in the
health sector, has been that states want more money from
the Commonwealth. I'm not surprised that that was a position
that Health Minister's put again today, but ultimately this deal
has to be landed.
Speaker 2 (01:40):
He's hopeful the Prime Minister will meet with the premiers
before Christmas to end this stalemate and make the care
of older and disabled Australians a national priority.
The country's health ministers have failed to come up with
an agreement to fund hospitals as elderly patients become stranded
in wards waiting for aged care beds and NDIS support.
Our health editor Jennifer Beschwarti has the detas.
Speaker 2 (00:20):
Yes, good afternoon Well. The state health ministers have described
today's meeting in one word, frustrating. They were hoping for
at least an extra eight billion dollars to cover what
they say is an unacceptable bed block crisis where elderly
patients are languishing in public hospitals who are medically fit
for discharge but have nowhere to go because there are
(00:41):
no aged care beds available, the number now exceeding three
thousand according to the States, the equivalent of more than
three major hospitals blocked a third of that in Queensland,
eight hundred in New South Wales, two hundred and fifty
in Victoria, three fifty in South Australia three hundred in WA.
Many are stuck for months, even years.
Speaker 3 (01:02):
But they're effectively homeless, stuck in our hospital system. It
is also awful for other patients who need our hospital
system for emergency care, where those beds aren't available.
Speaker 4 (01:12):
It's very frustrating for all of us to have to
be coming back time and time again, saying this offer
is not acceptable.
Speaker 2 (01:19):
The Federal Health Minister Mark Butler says the meeting was
constructive but wouldn't commit to additional funding at this stage.
Speaker 5 (01:25):
One of the truisms of Australian politics, particularly in the
health sector, has been that states want more money from
the Commonwealth. I'm not surprised that that was a position
that Health Minister's put again today, but ultimately this deal
has to be landed.
Speaker 2 (01:40):
He's hopeful the Prime Minister will meet with the premiers
before Christmas to end this stalemate and make the care
of older and disabled Australians a national priority.
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