$300,000 for hospital-to-residential-aged-care project

The NSW Government has announced that a collaborative regional project — led by Community Industry Group (CI Group) — will receive an additional $300,000 to help older people in the Illawarra Shoalhaven region transition from hospital to aged care more quickly, when they are medically ready to be discharged.

“The lack of available local residential aged care facility beds has been a major challenge across NSW in recent years, particularly in the Illawarra Shoalhaven,” NSW Minister for Health Ryan Park said. “Getting people out of hospital quicker and into the most appropriate care is critical for the patient, and the system as a whole, and that is why the work being undertaken by the Community Industry Group is hugely important.”

Following an initial $300,000 grant in May 2024, the project has spent the past 12 months working to implement sustainable strategies that enable improved transitioning of older people into residential aged care facilities (RACFs).

CI Group, a peak community group, undertook research into the drivers of discharge delays for older people into RACFs, supported the creation of a team of discharge volunteers to assist with the process of transfer from hospital, and also established a multi-agency regional health and aged care taskforce — to oversee these projects and develop a regional health and aged care plan.

“This additional funding will enable the expansion of existing initiatives including the Supported Transition Assistance Response Scheme within local hospitals, and focus on the development of more initiatives that will help ease pressure on our busy hospitals,” Park said.

The additional funding will also focus on engaging other external stakeholders and exploring options to expedite the aged care transition process. Assistance and expert advice will be provided by CI Group, together with Illawarra Shoalhaven Local Health District, working with RACF providers to implement immediate occupancy expansion initiatives, and to identify and target other aged care options.

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