Hospital pneumonia kills Wollongong man waiting for aged care bed
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Shuffling up and down a hospital geriatric ward corridor, kicking his feet on whatever medical equipment is in his way, his incontinence pad on display.
They are the painful last memories Renee Santos has of her father, James Brown, who contracted hospital-acquired pneumonia and died last year at Wollongong Hospital while waiting three months for a bed in a residential aged care facility.
"That's no existence for a human being. That's not living," Ms Santos said.
Hospital-acquired pneumonia is a lung infection caused by antibiotic-resistant microorganisms which exist throughout hospital settings.
Mr Brown was diagnosed with dementia in 2018 and was cared for at home by his wife, Jan, until June 2024, when he was hospitalised after a fall.
Ms Santos said it was decided her father required full-time care in an aged care home.
"We hoped that he would find a placement quite quickly," she said.
"That he would live out his remaining days with comfort and care and dignity in a facility that had an outdoor space, and he could get some fresh air and look at the sky.
"That's what I had envisaged and wanted for dad, but it never came about."
Mr Brown's story is becoming increasingly common due to a growing ageing population, and with that, increased rates of dementia, on top of a gross shortage of residential aged care beds and National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) placements.
"Bed block" or "delayed discharge" are the terms used to describe the more than 1,000 people who are stuck in New South Wales public hospitals, waiting for appropriate residential care.
NSW Health said about 830 people in state hospitals were seeking placement in aged care facilities, and about 300 required National Disability Insurance Scheme-supported homes.
It said the issue was "particularly challenging" in the Hunter New England and Illawarra Shoalhaven Local Health Districts, where higher numbers of patients awaited an aged care placement due to larger ageing populations.
Ms Santos said her father was let down by a broken system that "fails to look after the most vulnerable people in their greatest moment of need".
"Dad was a humble, working-class, family man who worked hard all his life, and he deserved to have some dignity, peace and comfort in his remaining years," she said.
He said the Illawarra had seen around 500 new beds over the last decade, but equally lost the same amount due to inappropriately designed facilities closing.
"[They were] too old, had crowded shared rooms, maybe in flood-prone areas," he said.
"It's static. We've had no growth, no extra beds."
Mr Sewell said the region had 4,000 beds in use, but was 1,000 beds short, or 25 per cent.
"Aged care beds have people stay for short times, two to three years maximum, and their turnover is a third of all their beds," he said.
He said one-third of people who needed a bed came from hospital, and two-thirds came directly from the community.
Mr Sewell warned the situation would worsen, with the baby boomers born in 1945 about to turn 80, 85 and 90.
"There's a large wave of people coming," he said.
"Our service systems aren't prepared, our hospitals aren't prepared, our aged care services aren't prepared.
"We should have known this for a long time. We should have seen this coming."
But the federal Aged Care and Seniors Minister Sam Rae said in a statement to the ABC that the Commonwealth had supported the state with almost $200 million and was rolling out 80,000 packages in the next 12 months as part of its new Support at Home program.
NSW Health Minister Ryan Park welcomed the new in-home care program, but said what was really needed was adequate funding in the next NHRA, due to be renewed by mid-next year.
"One reason the state hasn't signed up to the new national health reform agreement is because it does not recognise the amount of money the state needs to support aged care in hospital," he said.
NHRA is the primary agreement between the federal government and state and territory governments that outlines how public hospital services are funded, managed and delivered.
Written by Romy Gilbert, ABC News.
They are the painful last memories Renee Santos has of her father, James Brown, who contracted hospital-acquired pneumonia and died last year at Wollongong Hospital while waiting three months for a bed in a residential aged care facility.
"That's no existence for a human being. That's not living," Ms Santos said.
James Brown contracted hospital-acquired pneumonia and died in August 2024. (Supplied: Jan Brown)
Mr Brown was diagnosed with dementia in 2018 and was cared for at home by his wife, Jan, until June 2024, when he was hospitalised after a fall.
Ms Santos said it was decided her father required full-time care in an aged care home.
"We hoped that he would find a placement quite quickly," she said.
"That he would live out his remaining days with comfort and care and dignity in a facility that had an outdoor space, and he could get some fresh air and look at the sky.
"That's what I had envisaged and wanted for dad, but it never came about."
Mr Brown's story is becoming increasingly common due to a growing ageing population, and with that, increased rates of dementia, on top of a gross shortage of residential aged care beds and National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) placements.
"Bed block" or "delayed discharge" are the terms used to describe the more than 1,000 people who are stuck in New South Wales public hospitals, waiting for appropriate residential care.
Renee Santos says dementia patients seem to be "left on the shelf" and the last to find aged care homes. (ABC Illawarra: Romy Gilbert)
NSW Health said about 830 people in state hospitals were seeking placement in aged care facilities, and about 300 required National Disability Insurance Scheme-supported homes.
It said the issue was "particularly challenging" in the Hunter New England and Illawarra Shoalhaven Local Health Districts, where higher numbers of patients awaited an aged care placement due to larger ageing populations.
Renee Santos with her late father James Brown and mother Jan Brown. (Supplied: Renee Santos)
Ms Santos said her father was let down by a broken system that "fails to look after the most vulnerable people in their greatest moment of need".
"Dad was a humble, working-class, family man who worked hard all his life, and he deserved to have some dignity, peace and comfort in his remaining years," she said.
How did we get here?
Former Illawarra residential aged care chief executive Mark Sewell said the issue had exploded in the past three years.
Mark Sewell says a large wave of older people will require care in aged care facilities in the next 10 years. (ABC Illawarra: Romy Gilbert)
He said the Illawarra had seen around 500 new beds over the last decade, but equally lost the same amount due to inappropriately designed facilities closing.
"[They were] too old, had crowded shared rooms, maybe in flood-prone areas," he said.
"It's static. We've had no growth, no extra beds."
Mr Sewell said the region had 4,000 beds in use, but was 1,000 beds short, or 25 per cent.
"Aged care beds have people stay for short times, two to three years maximum, and their turnover is a third of all their beds," he said.
He said one-third of people who needed a bed came from hospital, and two-thirds came directly from the community.
James Brown's family says they feel devastated by how he spent his final months. (ABC Illawarra: Romy Gilbert)
Mr Sewell warned the situation would worsen, with the baby boomers born in 1945 about to turn 80, 85 and 90.
"There's a large wave of people coming," he said.
"Our service systems aren't prepared, our hospitals aren't prepared, our aged care services aren't prepared.
"We should have known this for a long time. We should have seen this coming."
Federal and state government at odds
The NSW government has blamed inadequate federal funding, a weak National Health Reform Agreement (NHRA) and delays in accessing Commonwealth aged care and NDIS services.But the federal Aged Care and Seniors Minister Sam Rae said in a statement to the ABC that the Commonwealth had supported the state with almost $200 million and was rolling out 80,000 packages in the next 12 months as part of its new Support at Home program.
NSW Health Minister Ryan Park welcomed the new in-home care program, but said what was really needed was adequate funding in the next NHRA, due to be renewed by mid-next year.
"One reason the state hasn't signed up to the new national health reform agreement is because it does not recognise the amount of money the state needs to support aged care in hospital," he said.
NHRA is the primary agreement between the federal government and state and territory governments that outlines how public hospital services are funded, managed and delivered.
Written by Romy Gilbert, ABC News.
