Nursing home residents at Stanthorpe face the boot

ELDERLY residents will be booted out of a southeast Queensland nursing home by Christmas with a 34-bed facility closing its doors - and families were not given much notice.

Stanthorpe Nursing Home is to close on December 11 with family’s only informed in the last week. Pic: Thinkstock.

ELDERLY residents on the Granite Belt will be booted out of their nursing home by Christmas with a 34-bed facility in Stanthorpe to close its doors.

Stanthorpe Nursing Home is to close on December 11 with family’s only informed in the last week.

The federal government said the closure was a ‘business decision’ by the operators, not the government.

There is another two other nursing homes in Stanthorpe and a further six within the Southern Downs region that the residents are expected to be moved to.

Jeanette Hawkins’ father Arthur, 81, has been in the home for seven years and she said the family should have been given more notice and the government should keep the centre open.

“It’s going to be difficult to find another place, my dad is high care. Some residents will have to go to other towns, it’s a big change for them and it’s a very stressful change for my mum.”

A spokesman for the Federal Department of Health said the nursing home was following ‘appropriate processes’ in notifying the department, staff and residents of the closure.

“The approved provider is working with residents to ensure a smooth transition to alternative providers.”