For some years now, COTA SA has been involved in Ministerial Roundtables on the issue of ‘stranded patients’ in SA hospitals: older people who are medically fit but cannot be discharged largely due to a lack of residential aged care places. COTA SA has previously described this as a 'wicked problem', which falls between State and Federal responsibilities, and has no quick solution.

Readers may be interested in live data regarding patient numbers available via the SA Health dashboard. At the time of publishing there were 231 ‘stranded patients’ in this predicament, and 94 requiring a place in a Memory Support Unit. We are aware that some people have been in hospital for more than two years.

COTA SA supports the State Government's initiatives to improve this situation, most recently with the announcement of 55 extra beds for older South Australians at Hampstead Rehabilitation Centre, following refurbishment works, and more importantly, a 10 point plan presented to the Commonwealth for more federal funding and legislative reform, which we agree would make a significant impact.

Share your experience

If you or someone you know has been caught up as a 'stranded patient', we would love to hear your story - please contact us via cotasa@cotasa.org.au or call us on 08 8232 0422.