General News
8 November, 2023
MP calls for action on Terang’s aged care
A CALL for the Victorian Government to support the future of aged care in Terang through the expansion of aged care accommodation services at Terang hospital has been raised in Parliament. South West Coast MP Roma Britnell raised an adjournment...
A CALL for the Victorian Government to support the future of aged care in Terang through the expansion of aged care accommodation services at Terang hospital has been raised in Parliament.
South West Coast MP Roma Britnell raised an adjournment matter with Minister for Health Mary-Anne Thomas in Parliament last Wednesday, calling on the Minister to instruct her department to investigate and identify options which could expand on aged care services at the site.
Ms Britnell said the Terang community was facing “an aged care crisis” after May Noonan aged care centre provider Lyndoch Living announced the closure of the facility on May 31 this year.“The May
Noonan aged care facility was an important part of the local community, providing a place for residents to receive the care they needed close to home, and it was convenient for family and friends to visit and offer their support,” Ms Britnell told Parliament.
“With the closure of May Noonan by Lyndoch Living, many existing residents were relocated to Warrnambool, a 40-minute drive away along the unsafe and poorly maintained Princes Highway.
“Terang residents looking to enter aged care can only do that through the existing aged care facility at the Terang hospital, as their local option, and this centre is already at capacity and very limited.”
As Western District Newspapers reported in August this year, Terang’s Chris O’Connor has been among the members of a steering committee launched to advocate for the future of aged care in Terang.
As reported at the time, the committee had identified potential for working through the State Government to support the expansion of the existing Terang hospital.
Last month Ms Britnell hosted Mr O’Connor at Parliament to discuss the work the committee had been undertaking.
She said Mr O’Connor had raised the proposal to expand the number of aged care beds at the Terang hospital as the committee believed it would be easier to meet aged care requirements, with registered nurses on duty at all hours of the day.
“The committee is conducting the due diligence required so the project will be ready to fund, and I am committed to working with the minister and the government to deliver this in a bipartisan manner as quickly as possible,” she said.
“It is the government’s responsibility to support regional residents, and this can include providing funding and staff where the provision of aged care and hospital facilities intersects.
“This is particularly beneficial as it also addresses the severe underinvestment in our regional healthcare facilities that has occurred under Labor, which has shown across South West Coast that it does not care about regional infrastructure, be it our roads, health, child care or public housing.”
Ms Britnell told Parliament the committee was a community-driven effort to “fill the very large gap left by Lyndoch’s departure”.
“Originally it was the locals who began this journey and saw the creation of the May Noonan Centre to become part of the town’s aged care facilities and care for elderly community members,” she said.
“It is very disappointing for them to see that they have lost the facility they worked so hard to create and support.
“Terang locals are now doing anything and everything they can to facilitate the ability of people to grow old in the community.”
Ms Britnell urged the Minister for Health to act as Terang was a tight-knit, social community where many residents have lived their whole lives, surrounded by friends and family who they see often.
“The community tells me lovely stories of how the residents of May Noonan who could walk up the street to the shops each day would be stopped frequently and would catch up for a chat,” she said.
“Everybody knows everybody in small towns like Terang, and it is devastating that the community can no longer be part of this journey and support the elderly members of their community.
“The local community are ready and willing to assist, and they need to be included and involved in the necessary planning and facilitating of a solution for Terang.”
Western District Newspapers approached Ms Thomas’ office for comment but did not receive a response prior to publication.