1 September 2022
Aged care services are set to remain in Whyalla, as not-for-profit Helping Hand acquires Kindred Living, securing more than 200 local jobs, the ABC reports.
Helping Hand took over management of Whyalla's aged care homes in November 2021, after the closure of the Annie Lockwood facility, due to its inability to attract and retain nurses.
Helping Hand's temporary management was meant to end in November, but CEO Chris Stewart said the not-for-profit operator had decided to acquire Kindred Living permanently, meaning Whyalla would not be left without an aged care provider.
"There are a lot of homes, particularly in regional areas, which are closing, which is really sad because those older people are displaced from their communities and their families," he told the ABC.
Member for Grey Rowan Ramsey said if Helping Hand hadn't been able to stay in Whyalla, he wasn't sure a new operator could have filled the void.
"It really was the only option for us on the table, I don't know where we would have found another operator," he told the ABC.
At the time of the Annie Lockwood closure in August 2021, the ANMF (SA Branch) said: “The heartbreaking decision of aged care operator Kindred Living to close the hostel in Whyalla amplifies the need for greater government focus on attracting and retaining health care staff in regional areas, including safer staff-to-resident ratios’’. We still loudly echo that call today.
Mr Stewart told the ABC that Helping Hand's priority would now be chasing the Federal Government for more funding to upgrade Yeltana Nursing Home, so that residents could have their own rooms and bathrooms.
During the last federal election, the Liberal Party promised $10 million to Helping Hand to upgrade the facility. Mr Stewart said the company would now pursue the Labor Government for similar funding.
Helping Hand operates nine aged care facilities, supporting 7,000 residents and employing 1,900 staff across South Australia.
“There does need to be a better focus by government on attraction and retention of nurses, registered and enrolled, and for those areas where they have residential aged care facilities, care work as well, to provide a workforce for the future,’’ ANMF (SA Branch) CEO/Secretary Adj Associate Professor Elizabeth Dabars AM said.
“Another big concern in residential aged care facilities is that of wages. They are consistently paid less than in the hospital sector.
“That needs to be addressed and that is why we continue to push for a 25 per cent pay rise for aged care workers through the Fair Work Commission.’’