Older Aussies Not Causing Hospital Woes
In an Australian first, research results published in the current issue of the Medical Journal of Australia show that, contrary to common perception, the ageing of the Australian population is not associated with an increase in the proportion of hospital beds used by older patients.
Professor Len Gray, head of Geriatric Medicine at the University of Queensland, said the declining access to hospital beds and subsequent increasing waiting lists and overcrowded emergency departments has been blamed on hospital funding cuts, population ageing, and bed 'blocking' by older people waiting for a place in long term care facilities.
From 1993 to 2002 the Australian aged population (65 years and older) increased by 18 per cent compared with total population growth of 10 per cent. Yet the proportion of hospital beds occupied by older people during this time remained stable at 47 per cent.
"This stability was a product of two major phenomena: disproportionate reductions in length of stay for multi-day admissions in the 75 years and older age group, which resulted in dramatic reductions in bed utilisation in spite of escalating separation rates. There was also a reduction in the rate of multi-day separations among the 65-74 years group," Professor Gray said.
The most substantial changes were observed in the population aged 75 years and older, with separations increasing by 89 per cent, length of stay reducing by 35 per cent and bed utilisation increasing by 23 per cent.
The study, which set out to determine trends in use of Australian acute hospital inpatient services by older patients , used secondary analysis of hospital data from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare in the period 1993-94 to 2001-02, in conjunction with population data from this period from the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
CONTACT Professor Len GRAY 0418 361 760 / 07 3240 5346 (w)
Judith TOKLEY, AMA Public Affairs, 0408 824 306 / 02 6270 5471