In short:
The South Australian government says an absence of 500 aged care beds is contributing to hospital ramping spikes.
asserted
absence → say → spikes
It says double the number of federally-funded beds would be needed to alleviate demand, but the Commonwealth government says the states turned down an $2 billion reform offer.
asserted
states → say → offer
The issue was discussed at a meeting between the SA government, health and union officials today but the federal aged care minister Sam Rae could not make the summit.
uncertain
minister → discuss → summit
South Australia's worst-ever ambulance ramping hours in August would have been reduced by two thirds had there been no aged care bedblock, the state government has claimed at a health meeting intended to increase pressure on Canberra.
asserted
government → reduce → Canberra
SA Health Minister Blair Boyer presented the modelling at a meeting of state government, health and union officials in Adelaide this morning, amid tensions with the federal government over the national shortage of aged care beds.
asserted
Boyer → present → beds
Those tensions were on full display in the form of an empty chair set aside for federal aged care minister Sam Rae, who was unable to attend but whose absence was made more conspicuous by a vacant space bearing his name between SA Premier Peter Malinauskas and SA Ambulance Service CEO Rob Elliott.
asserted
absence → set → Malinauskas
In August, ambulance ramping hours in South Australia hit 5,891 — the highest on record, and more than double the highest monthly figure reached under the Liberal government that was defeated by Mr Malinauskas's Labor at the 2022 state election.
asserted
that → hit → election
Prior to that victory, Labor had prominently promised to "fix the ramping crisis", and has since repeatedly blamed consistently high ramping on a shortage of federal aged care beds for patients transferring out of hospital care.
asserted
Labor → promise → care
Mr Boyer told the meeting, entitled the "federal aged care crisis", that the number of patients in public hospital beds who were unable to transfer to aged care beds was currently around 500 and could further increase to almost 700 during next year's winter peak.
uncertain
who → tell → peak
He said modelling showed ramping hours would have been slashed this year had those beds been available.
asserted
beds → say → ?
What if today the system had the 500 beds, that are out of action, available to us again?," he asked rhetorically.
asserted
he → have → us
"One of the most powerful stats we have is the winter demand period we've just had, where it almost peaked at 6,000 hours — and would have been below 2,000 hours had we had all the capacity available to us.
asserted
we → have → us
"It is an extraordinary number of hours that are lost by this capacity not [being] available to us."
asserted
capacity → lose → us
Earlier, Mr Boyer told 891 ABC Adelaide that federal minister Sam Rae had been invited to the meeting, but that "he couldn't make it".
asserted
he → tell → it
The ABC understands that the minister was only given a few days' notice of the meeting and that a scheduling issue prevented his attendance, but that a counteroffer was made to meet with Mr Boyer in Canberra.
asserted
counteroffer → understand → Canberra
The federal government has defended its aged care spending record, saying it was "not wasting a moment" to bring new residential aged care beds "online".
"Earlier this year, we announced the outcomes of an Expression of Interest process which will unlock $134.5 million to deliver 268 new residential aged care beds across five Adelaide sites, improving access to care and helping ease hospital discharge pressures," a spokesperson said.
asserted
spokesperson → defend → pressures
"We're supporting the construction of around 5,000 additional residential aged care beds each year."
asserted
We → support → beds
The state government said double that number was needed.
asserted
number → say → ?
But the federal government also said the states had knocked back opportunities to contribute to solutions.
asserted
states → say → solutions
"When states told us delayed discharge was their biggest pressure point, we listened and put $2 billion on the table ringfenced for aged care services, through the National Health Reform Agreement.
asserted
we → tell → Agreement
The states rejected it and took the money for hospitals instead," the federal spokesperson said.
asserted
spokesperson → reject → hospitals
Asked whether he was doing political damage to his federal Labor colleagues by being outspoken on the issue, Mr Boyer replied, "I doubt it's winning me any fans".
asserted
it → ask → fans
"Do I sit back because I'm afraid of being a bit unpopular with some of my colleagues and pull my punches?
asserted
I → sit → punches
I'm not going to do that," he said.
asserted
he → go → that
State opposition health spokesperson Jack Batty said today's meeting was welcomed provided it did not turn "into another talkfest".
asserted
it → say → talkfest
"We really need more than summits, we need commitments, we need deadlines, we need actual results," he said.
asserted
he → need → results
He had a crisis summit last week about this."
asserted
He → have → this
Mr Malinauskas likened the high demand on aged care beds to a freight train that been in motion for "decades" and had "now arrived at the station".
asserted
that → liken → station
"The country's not ready for it," he told Radio National earlier today.
asserted
he → tell → National
"There are a range of decisions that were made frankly during the course of the Abbott years that unwound various policy measures that had been introduced to prevent this from occurring and the consequences of it are now playing out."
asserted
consequences → be → it
The Aporia
