More work to do': ageing population puts clamp on EDs

Key points

• Fewer emergency patients are now leaving hospital within eight hours, a drop from more than 95 per cent in the past. Australasian College of Emergency Medicine president Peter Allely says more older Australians are arriving sicker.
• A college report found hospital visits by over-65s rose 16 per cent in the six years to 2024, against four per cent for younger people. Dr Allely says the growth was predictable and that the system has not prepared for it.
• Political parties have also proposed migration cuts that could affect aged care workers, many of whom are migrants.