Southern Cross Care (SA, NT & VIC) has unveiled plans for an expansion of its aged care service in the heart of Darwin.
The $18 million development will expand the footprint of Pearl Supported Care residential aged care facility in Fannie Bay, 4km from the city centre, and include an age-friendly Health & Wellness Centre that will be open to the community, offering physiotherapy, podiatry, exercise physiology, group fitness, strength and rehabilitation classes, social activities and more.
The expansion will increase capacity by 30% with 26 new aged care beds. The beds will be housed in a dedicated, purpose-built dementia care unit that incorporates the latest in dementia-friendly design. It will feature two separate living wings and a central lounge, dining, and activities spaces.
The central areas will also act as a dedicated cyclone shelter for residents and staff.
“This is a transformational project for aged care in the Northern Territory,” Southern Cross Care (SA, NT & VIC) Chief Executive Officer, David Moran, said.
“It will support the delivery of our Better for life vision for residents, while delivering an enhanced working environment for valued staff.
“Our new Health and Wellness Centre will provide greater access to high-quality health, wellness and rehabilitation services to promote health and prevent frailty for older people in the community.”
The redevelopment is also intended to make Pearl Supported Care a more attractive place to work, as aged care providers around the country battle to find staff.
“Our expanded Pearl care home will offer our people a modernised workplace and opportunities for career advancement,” David said.
The project has been made possible with a capital grant from the Commonwealth Government that will assist with the aged care building works. The Northern Territory Government has also assisted with part of Southern Cross Care’s purchase of approximately 5,400 square-metres of Crown land for the new facilities, which are south of the existing Pearl Supported Care home.
Acquisition of the land was completed earlier this month, paving the way for the next stage of detailed project planning.
Building works are expected to commence in mid-2024 and be completed in time for operations to commence in late 2025.
The Northern Territory is Australia's fastest ageing population, with the number of Territorians aged over 65 set to increase from around 20,000 in 2021 to 35,000 in 2041.
The SOURCE: Finding land for aged care developments poses one of the key challenges to building new aged care facilities. In this case, the NT Government has stepped in and provided Crown land.
