Bed block increases in Illawarra

Between 31 March 2025 and 31 March 2026 the number of stranded patients surged in ISLHD from 121 to 166.

• Older patients waiting for an aged care placement increased from 101 to 129.
• Patients waiting for an NDIS placement increased from 30 to 37.

Shoalhaven Hospital increased from 10 to 15 stranded patients and Wollongong Hospital increased from 9 to 26 stranded patients.

Stranded patients strategy

The NSW Government is pursuing its own strategy to address the Commonwealth Government’s bed block of NSW hospitals.

The strategy involves:

• NSW expanding aged care outreach services to deliver short-term multidisciplinary care to older people in their own home to reduce avoidable hospitalisations;
• Strengthening hospital in the home services to support more older people;
• Triaging and referring patients to community-based allied health services; and
• Strengthening discharge planning for complex patients to ensure they get the support they need outside of hospital.

Hospital performance

Despite these challenges, there have been some improvements in emergency department performance, planned surgery and the number of people accessing care outside of the hospital.

Notably, Wollongong Hospital improved the proportion of triage category two patients treated on time compared to three years ago from 45.5 percent to 53.5. Triage category two patients are some of the most unwell patients presenting to emergency departments, and the benchmark time for treatment to be commenced for these patients is 10 minutes.

The proportion of patients arriving by ambulance being transferred to ED staff within 30 minutes (ramping) also increased in the January to March 2026 quarter compared to three years ago. Wollongong improved this from 64.5 percent to 84.2. Shellharbour improved this from 73.1 percent to 89.3 percent.

This coincides with an increased uptake of alternative pathways to care outside of the hospital, including Healthdirect, the expansion of virtual care services across NSW with $224m invested for urgent care services; half a billion dollars invested into ED relief; the recruitment of more health workers and the delivery of more hospital beds with 600 across Western Sydney.

The number of overdue surgeries across ISLHD has decreased from 605 to 128 in the January - March 2026 quarter compared to the same quarter three years earlier.

Across all planned surgeries, 81.8 per cent were performed on time during the quarter, an improvement of 10.6 percentage points when compared to the same quarter in 2023.

Quotes attributable to Minister for Health Ryan Park:

“Every day, 1,300 patients are unable to leave our hospitals because they are waiting for a Commonwealth aged care or NDIS placement.

“The NSW Government is effectively subsidising the Commonwealth in its duty to provide aged care places. 

“The growth in the number of stranded Commonwealth aged care patients in our health system is unsustainable, and the Commonwealth has left the NSW Government with no choice but to devise its own plan.

“While the NSW Government is pursuing its own plan to address bed block, this is by no means a signal to the Commonwealth that they are relieved of their responsibility to deliver aged care placements.

“Despite these challenges, we are continuing to see progress in emergency department and surgery wait times which has coincided with a significant investment from the Minns Labor Government into ED relief – and I want to thank our health workers for their hard work and commitment to our health system.”

Quotes attributable to Member for Wollongong Paul Scully:

“The Minns Government has reformed planning laws in NSW to speed up the assessment of seniors living and residential aged care facilities so that new aged care builds can help take pressure of the NSW hospital system.

“Despite the pressures that bed block is creating for Wollongong Hospital it is good to see that the investments in additional staff, services and equipment is paying dividends with these targeted interventions leading to improvements in patient care.”

Quotes attributable to Member for Shellharbour Anna Watson:

“Families across the Illawarra and Shoalhaven expect timely access to hospital care, but too many beds are currently occupied by patients who are medically fit to leave hospital and are waiting for Commonwealth-funded aged care or NDIS placements.

“The number of stranded patients in the Illawarra Shoalhaven Local Health District has increased significantly over the past year, placing additional pressure on our hospitals and our hardworking healthcare staff.

“The Minns Labor Government is taking practical action to reduce pressure on hospitals by expanding hospital-in-the-home services, strengthening aged care outreach programs and improving discharge planning for patients with complex needs.

Quotes attributable to Member for Heathcote Maryanne Stuart:

“While the Commonwealth backlog continues, the NSW Minns-Labor Government is getting on with the job, with a practical strategy to keep people well at home and free up beds.

“We’re expanding aged care outreach, strengthening hospital in the home services and improving pathways to community care.

“Despite the challenges, we’re seeing improvements in ED performance, ambulance transfers and surgery wait times thanks to significant investment and the dedication of our health workers.”

Quotes attributable to Member for South Coast Liza Butler:

"At Shoalhaven Hospital, the number of stranded patients has increased from 10 to 15 over the past year. These are people who no longer need hospital care but cannot access the support they need in the community, placing additional pressure on our local health system.

"While aged care and the NDIS are Commonwealth responsibilities, the NSW Government is taking practical action to ease pressure on hospitals through expanded hospital-in-the-home services, better discharge planning and greater support for older people to remain safely in their own homes.

"I want people across Shoalhaven to know that our local health staff are working incredibly hard to provide the best possible care, and we will continue advocating for the services and support our community needs while improving patient flow and hospital capacity."

Quotes attributable to Member for Kiama Katelin McInerney:

“The Minns Labor Government is working to address the challenges of older patients who no longer need acute care being stranded in hospital with the supports they need to move back out into the community and strengthening the services older people will need to get back into their homes or appropriate aged care supports more quickly.”