Tiaro’s Petrie Gardens to close its doors due to new regulations

A small aged care facility on the Fraser Coast is closing down at the end of the month following the introduction of new regulations around minimum staffing and care.

Tiaro's Petrie Gardens aged care home will close its doors after the Federal Government announced changes to aged care compliance regulations.

A Tiaro retirement home will close its doors at the end of the month following the Federal Government changes to aged care compliance regulations.

New around-the-clock nursing requirements came into effect on July 1 and minimum care minutes will be introduced from October 1 as part of the new national legislation.

A Petrie Gardens spokeswoman said the 10-bed residential aged care facility would close at the end of the month, because of the new regulations.

The changes were a result of the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety which identified staffing levels were critical to the quality of residential care.

As of July 1, approved providers had to have at least one registered nurse on-site and on duty 24 hours a day, seven days a week at every facility.

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In October, facilities will need to provide a minimum of 200 daily care minutes per resident, including 40 minutes from registered nurses.

“We advised the Department of Health and Aged Care in June of our decision to close this residential aged centre and the reasons for the closure,” the Petrie Gardens spokeswoman said.

“We support the new compliance rules and understand that they are necessary.

“Petrie Gardens is a small, low-care 10-bed residential aged centre with a staff of four personal care workers and one registered nurse.

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“It is 25 minutes from our larger, 86-bed residential aged care centre, Fair Haven Maryborough.

“We advised the residents of the closure last week, and we are in the fortunate position to be able to offer our Petrie Gardens residents similar or better rooms at Fair Haven Maryborough, at no additional cost.

“Petrie Gardens staff were offered positions at Fair Haven Maryborough.

“All but one of the five staff live in Maryborough already and they may appreciate working closer to home.

“We know that this a loss to the community, but we’ll be exploring long-term opportunities for the future use of the building which will align with community need.”