Wesley Mission is closing all its remaining aged care homes in the region due to challenges to the workforce and the flow-on impacts of national reforms to aged care.
Wesley Mission, an organisation providing aged care services in Sydney, has announced the closure of all its aged care homes in the region, affecting more than 200 residents and their families.
The decision was made after a review of its operations and the impact of COVID-19.
Wesley Mission CEO, Rev Stu Cameron, said the Aged Care sector is experiencing challenges to the workforce and flow-on impacts from national reforms to Aged Care. “Wesley Mission supports these once-in-a-generation reforms, improving quality for all care users.”
“It is, however, a challenging environment to be a smaller provider. With just three aged care locations, our offering in this area is small compared to the large and diverse range of community services we provide around NSW and across Australia,” he said.
The closures will affect Wesley Mission’s facilities in Sylvania, Carlingford and Narrabeen, which are among the remaining aged care locations operated by the organisation. In 2022, Wesley Mission announced the closure of its Tebbutt facility.
Wesley Aged Care has appointed MyCarePath to support residents of the three aged care sites to ensure they are relocated before the closure.
The announcement was regrettable, but understandable in the current reform climate, according to the Aged & Community Care Providers Association.
In a statement, ACCPA said, ” We understand and support the need for reform, but we need to work with government to ensure the pace of change is manageable for aged care providers and does not exacerbate an already challenging situation.
“We also need to ensure that funding meets the cost of service delivery, which is why we have called in our Pre-Budget Submission for the government to deliver on the Royal Commission’s recommendation for indexation to match inflation in the upcoming Budget.”
The closure of Wesley Mission’s aged care homes is the latest in a series of closures and consolidation of services in the aged care sector in Australia. ACCPA encourages any aged care providers under financial pressure to reach out to the Department of Health and Aged Care for a discussion about potential grants and the Structural Adjustment Program, aimed at supporting viability and service continuity.
Read also: Help shape aged care workforce planning with your feedback
Ritchelle is a Content Producer for Healthcare Channel, Australia’s premier resource of information for healthcare.
