Goondiwindi Regional Council Mayor Lawrence Springborg AM has delivered a swipe at the Not For Profit over its decision to close its 25-year-old Inglewood aged care home on 28 October – but Churches of Christ says keeping the home open was no longer an option.
The facility – known as Casa Mia and catering to the local population of around 950 people – and currently has three residents and seven staff and was given three weeks’ notice of its impending closure.
Mr Springborg – who was formerly the leader of the Liberal National Party – said he was “appalled” by the treatment of residents, their families and staff, saying the provider had told the Council that the home would stay open.
“From the outset I’ve been understanding of the need for businesses to be viable to operate. However, the lack of compassion and transparency from Churches of Christ throughout this process is absolutely deplorable,” he told The Courier-Mail.
But in a statement to us, Churches of Christ in Queensland CEO Gary Edwards says the decision was “not taken lightly nor hastily” and the facility had faced a number of challenges that impacted its ability to keep operating.
“These factors included the changing residential aged care environment, the ability to attract qualified clinical team members, and financial feasibilities,” he said.
He added that the community will still have access to residential care at the neighbouring 16-bed Multi-Purpose Health Service run by Queensland Health and the operator’s services in the Darling Downs and Southern Downs regions.
“We thank our residents, their families and staff for their understanding at this time. We are deeply saddened that we cannot continue the future operation of the service.”
Churches of Christ says it would fully support the three remaining residents to relocate and help the staff find alterative employment, including at their other services.
They have a range of aged care services across regional QLD, Brisbane and Melbourne.
