Health · Healthcare & Policy · 5 hrs ago
Emergency doctors warn Australia is unprepared for rising numbers of older patients
Emergency doctors warn that Australia’s hospitals are not ready for the growing number of older people needing urgent care.
People aged 65 and over made up one quarter of emergency department visits in 2023-24, and their visits rose 16 per cent from 2018-19.
More than 53,500 older patients waited over 24 hours in emergency departments for a ward bed in 2023-24, about 250 per cent more than five years earlier.
Doctors say hospital bed shortages leave frail patients waiting in corridors or chairs and increase their risk of dying within seven days of arriving.
The pressure is expected to grow: emergency departments could see 411 per cent more patients aged 85 and over by 2050.
A report from the Australasian College of Emergency Medicine recommends adding hospital beds, improving the transfer of patients into wards, and expanding care at home and other alternatives to emergency departments.
It also calls for more investment in aged care and primary care to prevent some emergency visits; the article does not say what action governments will take next.
Emergency doctors warn Australia’s health system is unprepared for the growing number of older patients arriving at emergency departments.
A report projects a 411 per cent increase in emergency department patients aged 85 and over by 2050.
More than 53,500 older people spent over 24 hours in emergency departments waiting for an inpatient bed in 2023-24.
Doctors say delays in getting patients into hospital wards put older people at greater risk and add pressure across hospitals.
The report recommends more inpatient beds, stronger alternatives to acute care and investment in aged and primary care.
- Who
- The Australasian College of Emergency Medicine and emergency doctors, including its president, Dr Peter Allely.
- What
- Emergency doctors warn the health system is not prepared for rising numbers of older patients and the pressure they place on emergency departments.
- When
- The report was released on Tuesday; the article was published on October 13, 2026.
- Where
- Australia, with the report released at Parliament House in Canberra.
- Why
- The population is ageing, while hospital capacity and care pathways have not kept pace, contributing to delays for older patients awaiting inpatient beds.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
15,084 older people spent longer than 24 hours in emergency departments waiting for an inpatient bed.
Older people aged 65 and over made up one quarter of the 9 million emergency department presentations, and more than 53,500 spent over 24 hours waiting for an inpatient bed.
802 new aged care places were added, compared with a projected need of about 10,600 new beds a year.
State and territory health leaders met Health Minister Mark Butler to demand urgent investment in aged care.
The Australasian College of Emergency Medicine released its State of Emergency 2026 report at Parliament House in Canberra.
- Projected rise by 2050
- 411 per cent increase in emergency department patients aged 85 and over
- Older ED patients in 2023-24
- One quarter of 9 million presentations
- Long waits in 2023-24
- More than 53,500 older people waited over 24 hours for an inpatient bed
- Aged care beds needed annually
- About 10,600
- New aged care places in 2024-25
- 802
What people are saying
We’re only at the beginning of the exponential curve. We are not prepared for this.
When you’ve got a 97-year-old sitting in a plastic chair overnight waiting for care, we’re failing, and it’s downright embarrassing that this is happening every day
Our health system is at a tipping point. We can expect things to get much worse in the coming years unless we act.
Our entire healthcare system is geared towards acute care of younger patients, and we need to collectively shift that to being able to provide safe, effective and compassionate care to older Australians
Sources
Related news
Study finds women with autoimmune diseases more likely to have symptoms dismissed
Pope Leo XIV expected to have lung nodule removed in Rome
Rise in child accidents involving e-bikes prompts debate over regulation
Welsh endometriosis services face pressure as patients report disrupted surgery
Mexican insurers say hospitals and labs should join medical insurance debate
Paris court upholds limits on treatment for toddler with severe brain injuries
Family sues after 21-year-old dies following ankle fracture treatment
Pope Leo XIV to undergo lung operation in Rome on Tuesday
109 Queensland practices express interest in veterans’ care platform
Texas Agency Proposes Ending Children's Autism Program
