Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews has doubled down on his support for Government-run aged care homes with the State Government completing a new $55 million aged care facility in upmarket Kew.
Berengarra is a 90-bed residential aged care home located at St George’s Health Service in Kew, 5km east of Melbourne’s CBD, and it will be operated by St Vincent’s Hospital.
The completion of the project is the first step in the Andrews Government’s plan to overhaul and modernise its aged care assets.
The Labor Government is making its largest investment in aged care in over 10 years including $81.58 million on a facility at Wantirna and $134.6 million for another home in Cheltenham.
Victoria has recorded 1,988 cases of COVID-19 in residential care since the pandemic started, with 655 residents dying.
Dan Andrews has emphasised that none of the deaths were in Government-run homes.
In July 2020, the Premier took a shot at non-Government aged care during Victoria’s second coronavirus wave when he was quoted as saying he wouldn’t allow his mother to move into a private facility.
“I would not let my mum be in some of these places, I just wouldn’t,” he said.
As of June 2019, there were 178 public sector aged care facilities across Victoria.
