Queensland-based Not For Profit aged care provider Carinity will close its Summit Cottages aged care home in Mount Morgan, 680km north of Brisbane, due to workforce shortages.

The home’s staffing situation has worsened in recent months, and using high levels of staff from agencies, while allowing the home to continue delivering high quality care, is not “a viable long-term solution”, Carinity said in a statement.

The ABC has reported that Carinity, which owns 12 homes in Queensland, was flying staff in from Melbourne.

There is a “low likelihood” the staffing situation will improve and with “the increase in expectations from the community and regulators regarding staffing”, the provider was left with "no option” but to close, they said.

The decision comes as another Queensland home – Churches of Christ’s Petrie Gardens – has also announced this week it will close. 

Summit Cottages has 23 residents. The home will remain open until all have found alternative accommodation. Rockhampton, the nearest large town, is a 40-minute drive away.

The SOURCE: Agency staff are a huge cost burden for residential care operators and an unviable strategy in the long-term.