The NSW Government will provide $300,000 to a peak community group to research and implement innovative new strategies, aimed at helping older people to transition more quickly from hospital to aged care when they are medically ready to be discharged.

The collaborative regional project, led by the Community Industry Group (CI Group), will support the implementation of a volunteer coordinator program which will assist with transitioning older people into residential aged care facilities (RACFs).

The lack of available local RACF beds has been a major challenge in recent years, particularly in the Illawarra Shoalhaven Local Health District, where despite the implementation of a range of strategies around 90 patients on average await residential care placement on any given day.        

Minister for Health Ryan Park has welcomed the collaborative project, which will also fund research to better understand and address the needs of longer stay older patients in hospitals.

“We remain committed to implementing initiatives aimed at reducing any unnecessary lengths of stay in hospital being experienced by older people waiting for RACF placement in the Illawarra region," Mr Park said.

“Collaborative projects like these are important in addressing delays in discharging older people from hospital which can slow patient admission times."

CI Group CEO Nicky Sloan said the organisation is uniquely placed to deliver regional collaborative projects to address this critical issue.

“This funding will enable us to work with local stakeholders including aged care providers, the Local Health District, the Primary Health Network, local Councils, Dementia Services Australia as well as the Commonwealth Department of Health and Aged Care to deliver three important initiatives aimed supporting the discharge of older people into an aged care service," Ms Sloan said.

In a phased approach, three initiatives will be rolled out by the CI Group, as follows:

• Reearch: Research into the drivers of discharge delays of older people into residential aged care facilities, as well as a review of the ability of aged care services to meet the needs of these older patients.  This research will be led by Professor Kathy Eagar and well-known aged care expert, Paul Sadler.
• Transition volunteers: The creation of a team of discharge support volunteers, to be known as the Supported Transition Assistance Response Scheme (STARS), to assist the process of transfer for each person from hospital to an aged care home or their own home.
• Taskforce: Establishment of a multi-agency regional health and aged care taskforce to oversee these projects and develop a regional health and aged care plan to address the ageing demographic needs.