This news story from Cootamundra, 380km west of Sydney, caught our eye this week.
Paul Hogan, the son of a resident at the Cootamundra Nursing Home (CNH), went to the local press after discovering that their Refundable Accommodation Deposit (RAD) was $549,000 – just below the non-governmentally approved maximum RAD amount of $550,000.
That’s compared to Cootamundra’s median house price of $220,000.
Having taken his mother out of the facility, Mr Hogan says that the prices are “grossly unfair.”
“It’s not equitable, it’s not reasonable, and I personally do not accept that the CNH is worth those prices … given the facilities and amenity offered,” he said.
In response, the CNH board has pointed out that most residents don’t pay more than a Basic Daily Fee – set at 85 per cent of the single person rate of the basic age pension – and no RAD at all.
CNH chairman Fred Byrne also stressed that the RAD is refundable – and the level of care offered at the Not For Profit CNH is well above average.
“We are determined to keep it so,” he said. “Whatever profits we can make we put back into the care of our residents.”
Does that put a different spin on the figures?
