Thursday September 24, 1998

A NEW AGED CARE FACILITY FOR MOE - KNOWLES

The opening of a new aged care facility at Moe is a fitting tribute to a whole new era in health services in the region, the Health & Aged Care Minister, Rob Knowles, said today.

Officially opening the 60-bed Narracan Gardens Aged Care Facility, Mr Knowles said it would be a key part of health services in Moe into the next century and one in which the community can be proud.

“The Victorian Government began a strategy recognises that the State has a primary responsibility for the development of comprehensive regional health care for older people,” Mr Knowles said.

“A substantial redevelopment program has been underway, aimed at identifying and progressively upgrading residential services which should be retained within the State’s aged health system,” he said.

“Those no longer appropriate because of the standard of buildings or the location have been progressively transferred to private and voluntary sector operators.”

Mr Knowles said residential services are being re-established in areas where they are needed, in new buildings provided by new operators under Commonwealth funding and under Commonwealth regulation and monitoring standards.

The program began with a pilot project in 1996 which transferred 100 aged residential care places in Bairnsdale to two new purpose-built facilities built by the private provider to take over ownership and operation of the services.

Under the plan, a 60-place aged residential care facility was built at Bairnsdale and a 40-place facility at Paynesville.

“Stage two of the project involved a further 385 places at five facilities across Victoria and the Latrobe Regional Hospital at Moe was one of those,” Mr Knowles said.

“A third stage, comprising about 800 aged residential care places within some of the older public hospitals in Victoria, will be transferred to private and voluntary service providers and rebuilt in smaller, community-based aged care facilities.

“The projects reflect the Government commitment to improving aged care services in Victoria to ensure residents are cared for in a homelike environment within the local community.”

The program to transfer Commonwealth-funded services to private and voluntary sector providers will give older Victorians improved services in a number of ways:

  • Enabling services to be provided in areas and communities which do not currently have enough services to meet the care needs of older Victorians,
  • Increasing the range of services available so that older people and their carers have a greater degree of choice about how their needs for support, nursing and other care are met,
  • Increasing the contribution of funds from the private and voluntary sector for new buildings and releasing State funds for specialised aged health and community care services.

“The Narracan Gardens Aged Care Facility is a modern complex providing a number of support functions,” Mr Knowles said.

“People in rural communities are living longer, and this makes primary care services and other services related to chronic illness and disability increasingly important.”

NOTE: Time & venue of official opening - 2 pm today (Thursday)

Narracan Gardens Aged Care Facility, 11 Amaroo Way, Moe.

Media inquiries:

Serena Williams, Press Secretary 9651 5799; 0419 897 858.

Barry Owen, Department of Human Services Media Unit 9616 7883.

(Barry/Narracan)