By Dana Daniel
Nine aged care homes have closed during the Omicron wave of COVID-19, with staff shortages blamed by the operator of two rural NSW facilities whose residents were told on Wednesday they will have to be moved.
Southern Cross Care on Wednesday morning told residents it will close two homes - Currawarna in the south-eastern NSW town of Bombala and Tenison at Swansea near Lake Macquarie - meaning 40 elderly residents will have to find other accommodation.
Staff shortages are pushing some aged care homes out of business.Credit: Virginia Star
The closure of the homes brings the number of aged care facilities to shut since December 1 to nine, according to Health Department figures, with several more closures yet to be announced.
Helen Emmerson, the provider’s chief executive and a registered nurse, said it was “not sustainable to ask existing staff to regularly work double shifts, with no respite” and the home could not rely on agency staff “who drive in and out”.
She said the decision to close was a difficult one but “we cannot responsibly continue to assign our limited resources to facilities we have assessed as unsustainable”. She said staffing shortages meant the facilities could not meet quality standards.
“Permanent, well-resourced staff are vital for fostering relationships and supporting people to age with dignity,” Ms Emmerson said.
“We are experienced at operating in challenging circumstances, but the aged care sector faces serious structural and workforce issues, with most regional homes operating at a loss.”
Aged Care Services Minister Richard Colbeck told a Senate estimates hearing on Wednesday that providers closing down “have an obligation to continue to provide care until all residents have found an alternative place.”
“Some of them should close,” Senator Colbeck said.
“There are a number of providers out there where the building infrastructure doesn’t conform to anything like what modern-day facilities should provide.”
He said the Health Department would help residents of the Bombala home, the only aged care facility in the town, to find new accommodation.
The Southern Cross Care announcement is the latest closure in the sector after Lark Ellen Aged Care in Sydney’s Sutherland Shire, near Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s electorate, told residents it will cease operations by the end of March.
Shadow Aged Care Minister Clare O’Neil said Mr Morrison should “put a serious minister in the job” and “support a pay rise for the workers.”
Unions are pushing Labor, employers and the federal government to back their application for a 25 per cent pay rise for aged care workers in the Fair Work Commission. Labor committed to putting in a supportive submission only if it wins the election.
Southern Cross Care is working to find new accommodation for all affected residents and will not close the homes until this process has finished.
“We are arranging one-on-one meetings with every single resident and their families to ensure everyone has a dedicated point-of-contact to help them find suitable accommodation. That’s our priority,” she said.
For the Bombala home to operate sustainably, she said, it needed seven full-time staff members, including two registered nurses, but had been unable to find enough workers “despite extensive efforts”.
The Swansea home also faced significant staffing pressures, she said, while also facing challenges at looking after residents with “increasingly complex” care needs after initially being set up as a low care hostel.
Workers from Swansea will be moved to another Southern Cross home at Caves Beach.