The Shire of Boddington, southeast of Perth, has announced it has found a location in its hospital precinct for a planned aged care accommodation project.

The project was announced in 2020, when the shire’s Aged Accommodation Committee established the need for a local aged care solution, and Verso Consulting was engaged to build an Aged Care Services and Accommodation Strategy for Boddington in 2021. The full report made four key findings:

• Boddington’s population aged 70+ is experiencing significant growth;
• Boddington’s population aged 80+ is experiencing even higher growth;
• The unmet demand for residential aged care would be 37 places by 2026 across the shire, and 47 places by 2031 (of which 21 and 27 places will be in Boddington alone); and
• This supported the feeling in the community that a solution to the current (and projected) gap in residential aged care was needed.

The shire has determined that a 40-plus-bed facility will suit the land available in the town’s hospital precinct, which was selected over two other sites.

The Shire of Boddington does not currently own all the land needed, so will be seeking support from the Western Australian Country Health Service (WACHS) for the project. A tendering process will then follow.

The ABC reported earlier this year that residents were needing to leave Boddington if they needed any form of out-of-home care.