Hospital pneumonia kills Wollongong man waiting for aged care bed

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.


image1.jpg
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.


image3.jpg
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.


image6.jpg
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.


image4.jpg
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.


image2.jpg
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.
 

Seniors Discount Club

Sponsored content

Info
Loading data . . .
thank you Liz. I too have a breathing problem called Pseudomonas which many doctors have never heard of. It's caused by living in a house with mould, mildew, asbestos and fibro. It was my eldest son's house and he kept trying to tell me mould and mildew wouldn't hurt me... strange seeing he was a LtCol in the Army Medical Corp. After renting this house and paying for repairs I finally forked out over $15000 to completely do the house up. My thanks was he had me evicted and sold it. I haven't seen him since.
The breathing problem I have has no cure and even asthma sprays don't help so it's a damned nuisance.
Anyway my Mum called me "pig headed and stubborn" and thankfully I still am.
Have a great day dear friend.
What doctors have never heard of Pseudomonas aeruginosa? Did they do their studies in a cave at the University Of Bedrock?

Pseudomonas is an airborne highly antibiotic resistant gram negative bacteria. It gives rise to urinary tract infections, pneumonia, endocarditis and septicemia. People who are being treated for cancer are especially susceptible due to immunosuppressive drug treatment.

Nasty stuff @gamiry. Stay as well as you can! ❤️

 
  • Like
  • Love
Reactions: mOiOz and DLHM
VAD is so much more humane than letting someone suffer so terribly when there’s no cure or relief. The worst part is for the loved ones left behind. But it’s our right to decide about how we need to be treated.

I agree with @Liz, I’m glad you’re pig headed and stubborn, @gamiry. 💝
VAD is not available in all States, and those that do will only assist palliative patients! :(
 
Yes Suzanne, what your daughter has experienced has sadly, been going on for many years, long before I retired from nursing. Even my doctor won't talk about VAD probably as I've heard before, "we trained to save lives not take them" Heaven help them when they get old or disabled.'
I agree with your doctor, as should every nurse in a hospital or aged care facility. They are trained to save lives, not end them. It is not reasonable for anyone to expect their doctor and/or nurse to assist them in dying. If this continues then we will have a huge loss of nurses & doctors available to care for sick people. Ask any veterinarian about the loss of vets due to the emotional stress in having to "put animals down". It must be many times worse for doctors and/or nurses to be involved in "putting people down" (yes, that's the term I choose to use; otherwise I would call it what it really is - MURDER). I know when I was working as a psychiatric nurse it was distressing for all the staff when one of our patients died of natural causes, think how much worse if VAD was instituted!! Nurses and doctors get involved with their patients & grief is involved with every death & we, as humans, can only take so much of it before we have to leave the industry.
 
Aged care is yet another symptom of our failing health system. It's also a symptom of the problems with federalism and "states rights". Aged care is a federal responsibility, I believe. Yet the states have to provide the facilities. Duplication of effort, poor co-ordination of programs and the result is the inevitable failure
 
Meanwhile Government will carry on building their castle in sand bastard windmills as they say feckig eejits?
 
Dear gamiry - I am so sorry that you have suffered for so long and ever so much. I do not know what it is like to have a serious medical condition, especially like the one that you have lived with for so long, and although I am against VAD myself it is not for me to speak for anyone else. Tonight I will say a prayer for you to make the decision you want when the time comes and ask that you be forgiven for wanting to end your pain and suffering. I’m sure you will do what you think is best to end your pain and I’m also sure you will be forgiven. God bless.
 
Yes Suzanne, what your daughter has experienced has sadly, been going on for many years, long before I retired from nursing. Even my doctor won't talk about VAD probably as I've heard before, "we trained to save lives not take them" Heaven help them when they get old or disabled.'
Then it's high time Drs get retrained Drs do have a say when to end life, just only one has to be in a coma for a very long time to turn the machine off.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Benny's Light

Join the conversation

News, deals, games, and bargains for Aussies over 60. From everyday expenses like groceries and eating out, to electronics, fashion and travel, the club is all about helping you make your money go further.

Seniors Discount Club

The SDC searches for the best deals, discounts, and bargains for Aussies over 60. From everyday expenses like groceries and eating out, to electronics, fashion and travel, the club is all about helping you make your money go further.
  1. New members
  2. Jokes & fun
  3. Photography
  4. Nostalgia / Yesterday's Australia
  5. Food and Lifestyle
  6. Money Saving Hacks
  7. Offtopic / Everything else

Latest Articles

  • We believe that retirement should be a time to relax and enjoy life, not worry about money. That's why we're here to help our members make the most of their retirement years. If you're over 60 and looking for ways to save money, connect with others, and have a laugh, we’d love to have you aboard.
  • Advertise with us

User Menu

Enjoyed Reading our Story?

  • Share this forum to your loved ones.
Change Weather Postcode×
Change Petrol Postcode×