Disabled people waiting in public hospitals for nursing home admission restrict the available acute medical and surgical beds and therefore the ability of hospitals to provide acute and elective services. In areas where nursing home vacancies are scarce, people awaiting placement are often sent to distant areas where vacancies are frequent. We retrospectively studied 217 persons placed out of area from the Central Coast of NSW in 1994. We report their disabilities, their circumstances, factors leading to their transfer and their location at the end of the twelve month study period. Some of the reasons for their situation are discussed and plans for the future explored.