Almost 2,500 elderly patients across the country are currently stuck in public hospitals, waiting for a federal government aged care bed, according to new figures compiled by the states and territories, which suggest the practice is costing taxpayers $1 billion a year.

A report prepared by the South Australian government will be presented to a meeting of health ministers in Perth today, with the states and territories calling on the federal government to do more to address what they say is a critical aged care crisis affecting hospitals around the nation.

"The current state of older Australians awaiting [residential aged care home] placement in the health system is unsustainable and threatens the ongoing viability of public hospitals to provide acute care for those in need," the report s

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