Kindred Living (formerly Whyalla Senior Citizens Welfare Association) has blamed its failure to employ a skilled workforce for closing one of its three aged care homes in Whyalla, the port city 395km northwest of Adelaide’s CBD.
In a letter sent to residents’ families, Kindred Living gave 27 days’ notice of the planned closure of Annie Lockwood Court Hostel. It also owns and operates Copperhouse Court and Yaltana Nursing Home in Whyalla.
“The only reason we are closing the facility is that we can’t secure a skilled workforce,” Kindred Living CEO Juanita Walker said.
“We’ve already got a shortage of registered nurses particularly in that area, the rollout of the NDIS and the expansion of home care. We are all competing for the same resources.”
Kindred Living said it would help to find residents alternative accommodation as close to Whyalla as possible.
The Not For Profit organisation was issued with a non-compliance notice after the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission (ACQSC) identified an immediate and severe risk to resident’s wellbeing at Annie Lockwood Court Hostel in January last year. This came after whistleblowers alleged residents had Norwegian scabies, a contagious skin infestation.
