Australasian College for Emergency Medicine

I've got a long career.

But no, look, I think one of the facts, one of the stories I've pointed to quite often is the fact that, you know, when I was at the Australasian College for Emergency Medicine, we were pretty upset and demanded that the health ministers at the time take note that the number of people staying 24 hours in the emergency departments had jumped from 170 in one year to, you know, 430 the next.

And we thought that was a huge jump.

And, you know, business staying 24 hours in the emergency departments for inpatient care was a real system of, a real marker of, you know, the system not working, you

Can

we also have a look into, I totally understand what you're saying and we're actually going to catch up with the Australasian, the emergency, you know, crew to talk more about what you've just discussed there with those older patients presenting.

But in terms of those younger dementia patients, is that something that you can commit to a SID? You will have a look into and, you know, what services are available for those that are diagnosed when they're younger and if we've got a LAC? you know, something that we might be able to build upon.

Certainly will, Katie.

James Gray-Spence, the Acting Assistant Commissioner, is going to be joining us to give us a bit of a rundown on how things are going in Alice Springs following on from that storm.

We're then going to catch up with the Australasian College of Emergency Medicine.

The President, Dr Peter Ali, is going to be joining us and then we'll get to all of your messages.

There's plenty of people in contact with us today about lots of different things.

[upbeat music] The federal health minister says adding more aged care beds won't be enough to ease the pressure on emergency departments as Australia's population ages.

It comes as a new report from the Australasian College for Emergency Medicine shows more older Australians are turning up in emergency rooms, and they're sicker than before.

In the six years to 2024, hospital visits by people over 65 jumped 16%, compared with just 4% for younger Australians.

Health Minister Mark Butler says the country is at a tipping point as more baby boomers enter aged care, and there's more work to do to make sure health and age care services are up to scratch.

The nation's peak body for emergency doctors has warned that lengthy waits in EDs are becoming more common, largely due to the aging population.

The new report from the Australasian College for Emergency Medicine says governments are failing at all levels to deal with what's expected to be a massive increase in elderly patients over the coming decades.

The advocacy group wants state and federal governments to address areas including funding and integration between hospitals and aged care.

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