More information on movements between hospital and residential aged care

The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare has released new information on movements between hospitals and residential aged care.

During 2001–02 there were 620,000 hospital separations for stays lasting at least one night for people aged 65 years and over. Of these, an estimated 10% were separations into residential aged care, with around two-thirds of this group being for people already living in permanent residential care and one third being for people who were new admissions.

Conversely, it is estimated that one third of the 67,300 admissions into residential aged care in 2001–02 were from hospital, with about 70% of these admissions being for permanent care. Nearly one quarter of all the admissions were for people transferring between different residential aged care facilities.

Of people moving to residential aged care, about two thirds were women, and nearly three quarters of them were aged 80 or older.

Older people who moved into permanent residential care from hospital averaged longer hospital stays than people returning to residential aged care after an episode in hospital. About 10% of those moving into permanent residential care had hospital stays of at least 64 days.

People moving into permanent residential aged care from hospital generally had higher care needs than people moving from the community.