General News
5 July, 2023
Community Meeting Draws Hundreds
HUNDREDS packed into the Civic Hall to seek answers on the future of aged care in Terang.
HUNDREDS packed into the Civic Hall to seek answers on the future of aged care in Terang.
A community meeting discussing the future of aged care in Terang provided an opportunity for residents to hear from community leaders including Terang Progress Association president Ken McSween, Wannon MP Dan Tehan, Corangamite Shire deputy mayor Geraldine Conheady and Terang and Mortlake Health Service chief executive officer Julia Ogdin.
The foundations of how Terang’s future aged care options will unfold, and how the community can work towards goals, took centre stage with a range of options discussed at length.
May Noonan provider Lyndoch Living declined to send a representative to the meeting, opting instead for an open letter from the board and management to be read by moderator Cr Jo Beard; which drew frustrated groans from a number of attendees.
The letter reiterated Lyndoch Living’s position it would support May Noonan residents and their families through the transition, and revealed all residents had now been moved on from the site.
“Extensive support has been provided to all residents and families, and as of today all residents have now relocated,” the letter read.
“We will continue to support all residents who have moved.
“To the community, we apologise. The decision to close was not easy and we understand the community’s disappointment.
“We are not in the position to operate a home which could not recruit registered nurses, was unable to achieve an occupancy above 50 per cent, and continued to operate at a significant deficit within the context of a very old infrastructure that is no longer fit for purpose according to current day standards.”
Mr Tehan slammed Lyndoch Living’s decision to close May Noonan, and the provider’s failure to adequately consult the community throughout its decision-making process.
“My commitment is to make sure we do have aged care services continue in Terang; what form that takes, as a community we’ve got to work together to see what it is,” he said.
“I am bitterly disappointed in Lyndoch Living and I would use stronger words if I was in the shearing shed.
“No one knew this was coming, there wasn’t consultation with the community, there wasn’t even a preparedness to say to the community how can we make May Noonan continue.
“I think that’s absolutely appalling, and I think the way the community has been treated is appalling, but the fact is we’re here where we are now, and what we’ve got to do is deal with the situation as we have it and see what we can do going forward.”
Corangamite Shire deputy mayor Geraldine Conheady shared council’s disappointment in the decision.
“I can only acknowledge there was a lot of shock, disappointment and worry that was caused when Lyndoch Living made their decision, but it has been made,” she said.
“As a council we were really disappointed the way that decision was made and delivered to the community - it was very inconsiderate and disrespectful to the Terang community.
“We tried numerous times to engage with Lyndoch Living in the past few weeks, to get some explanation.”
Despite the frustration and sadness which has reverberated throughout Terang and the wider region since Lyndoch Living’s shock closure of May Noonan, the evening was highlighted by the community’s resolve to plan ahead for the future of aged care in town.
Mr McSween said he was thrilled to see so many people support the meeting, with around 200 in attendance on the night and more than 400 accumulated views on the online stream.
“I was overjoyed with the turnout and the productive discussion which gave us something to move forward with,” he said.
“Everything that has happened is only a preamble; the real work starts now and we need dedicated people to get involved and push it.
“This process is not going to be short, we’re going to need people who are prepared for that long-haul because this is not a short, quick thing.
“We want a variety of dedicated people with special talents involved, and we’ll come up with a variety of options.”
A vision begins to emerge
A CONCEPT for the future of aged care which has gained early support from the community was explored at the community meeting.
Terang residents began floating the idea of a new aged care facility being developed adjacent to Ambulance Victoria’s Terang station on Cameron Street, behind the hospital.
With the land unused and Terang and Mortlake Health Service (TMHS) a well-respected entity throughout the region, the idea of the health service being identified as a potential aged care provider to lead Terang’s future aged care services has gained traction.
Terang’s Wayne Reicha asked the speakers if land surrounding the Terang hospital was available to be set aside for a future development, as unconfirmed rumours circulate Lyndoch Living has already reached an agreement to sell the current May Noonan land.
“If it’s sold, which will virtually end the story of May Noonan, is there land available around the hospital area set aside for development?” he asked.
“Should we start planning as soon as possible for new facility to create a plan and get on with it; a new and modern facility for our town?”
TMHS chief executive officer Julia Ogdin confirmed the TMHS board had begun exploring potential uses for the land surrounding the hospital.
“We have in recent years worked with Ambulance Victoria to provide a new ambulance station on part of that site, but there is still some remaining land,” she said.
“In the last couple of weeks the board of directors, along with the executive of the health service, has been questioning as to whether that land could be put to some use in regards to residential aged care.
“What I am able to say is I’m sure the board of directors would have an appetite to explore something like that but we are a state-funded health service.
“This residential aged care issue is a federal, commonwealth funded issue; we would need to investigate a partnership arrangement if that were to happen.”
Mrs Ogdin said the closure of May Noonan had caused concern for TMHS as its state-run, 15-bed acute aged care facility, Mount View, lacks capacity to accommodate the needs of the community.
She signalled TMHS were receptive to working with both state and federal governments to explore expansion opportunities, but cautioned no commitments could be made with a lengthy process ahead.
“Moving forward the TMHS board of directors certainly has a clear commitment to aged care in this community,” Mrs Ogdin said.
“We do have some limitations on our ability to expand. There are some funding limitations given we are a state-provided, small rural health service which is funded by the Victorian government.
“We’re unable to commit to expansion, we would certainly like to and we can see the passion, but that’s something we would need to work through with the commonwealth.
“Planning is a commonwealth responsibility, and that’s where we run in to some challenges; which aren’t insurmountable.”
Mr Reicha also questioned if a community fundraising effort could be of assistance in expediating a new development, with the town having a long history of raising up to $500,000 in previous fundraisers.
“In terms of the hospital, would the incentive of community fundraising help to push things along?” he asked.
Mrs Ogdin said the state government had confirmed there was not currently an appetite to expand state beds, but felt support from the community would be a vital step in drawing interest from government in future developments.
“There is no doubt in anyone’s mind this community is extremely passionate and certainly supportive of aged care in to the future,” she said.
“All I can really say is that I think this would need to be a movement coming from the community to grow this idea, and to take it to a level where commonwealth or state government were able to pursue the idea further.”
Mr Tehan said another option worth exploring was whether an aged care provider may be willing to “come in and invest in the community”.
He said ideas such as developing a residential aged care facility or independent living accommodation on the former Terang College junior campus site or TMHS’ available land could be complicated as it was state government territory.
“I’ve spoken to a couple of providers who do have some interest (in Terang),” he said.
“I think there is a couple of questions we need to work through; is there an appetite to see whether we could bring in additional services to the community then explore with some of the operators if they might be willing?
“One of the things which we have seen recently is the addition of independent living units open in smaller rural communities.
“That’s something we should consider, and whether it would work on the hospital site or whether, because it’s a state government site, the complexities of a not-for-profit, for instance, coming in and putting an independent living unit on state government owned land or whether there was other land it could go on.”
Former TMHS nurse of over 46 years Erika Sargeant supported the inclusion of TMHS in the vision, including use of the land surrounding the hospital.
“It would be a really good facility in that the ambulance station is right beside it, which could be accessed by the residents for whatever it ended up being; independent living or residential care,” she said.
“I worked at the hospital for 46 years, and that area could be incorporated in to the whole facility.”
Former Corangamite Shire mayor Chris O’Connor also supported the notion of including TMHS in Terang’s future aged care arrangements.
“We should set up, in conjunction with Terang and Mortlake Health Service although we can’t be too presumptuous about what their views might be and how difficult it might be, but we should put a working group together that can work towards putting together a solid business case to take forward to government to suggest we still have a need for high-needs aged care in the facility,” he said.
“There are some things we can’t do as a small community; we can’t have an MCG and we can’t have a performing arts centre in Terang.
“But one thing we can do really well is have people age in our community and look after them.
“We have good organisations in town. Under Julia’s organisation (TMHS) they actually care about their staff, they look after them, and those staff feel valued so they come and they stay.”
A fresh start presents the best option
A FRESH start at a new site was the early preference for Terang’s aged care future.
Mr Tehan said the cost of purchasing the existing May Noonan site in addition to demolition of the outdated facilities to start fresh would be “significant” based on real estate estimates.
“The sense I get is to do it on a green fields site,” he said.
Cr Conheady said she was informed by Lyndoch Living chief financial officer Andrew Long this week that the facility itself does not meet aged care standards, and would need a total rebuild to become compliant.
“We’ve talked about more beds and a new facility, and I think the conclusion we need to reach is what the appetite is and then I think we can start to formulate an idea about what the options can be and what we can do to support the community’s appetite for what the future looks like for aged care in Terang,” she said.
“The shire council can really be behind you in that and we can provide the representation, the advocacy and connect with the politicians.”
Working group to be developed
AN impromptu motion was moved with a near unanimous show of hands to form a working group to assist in bringing Terang’s future aged care vision to fruition.
Mr O’Connor moved a motion to form a committee to work with TMHS to develop a business case to advocate for further aged care in Terang.
“We shouldn’t get hung up on when and where but we should be very concerned about the need and express a determination to the Department of Health and the Victorian and federal governments that we want it, we need it and we’re prepared to work for it,” he said.
“I move that the meeting support the formation of a small steering group that can liaise with the TMHS board, or others, and together build a case to advocate for government funds to extend Mount View, or somewhere else, to approximately 50 beds.”
Mr Tehan said he would support the establishment of a working group, and suggested a mixture of beds and independent living accommodation, which Mr O’Connor said would be a reasonable point of discussion.
Another suggestion which Mr Tehan floated as part of the motion was to call for the proceeds of the sale of the May Noonan site to be donated by Lyndoch Living to Terang’s aged care trust to support the establishment of new facilities.
Mr O’Connor voiced his support for the idea of Lyndoch Living doing what’s right and making a donation to Terang’s aged care fund.
“If Lyndoch really want, and need, to rebuild acceptance socially and community wise to operate their not-for-profit organisation, then the best money they could spend right now would be to donate that money back to our community so we can continue aged care,” he said.
“If they are in it for business, fine, keep the 30 pieces of silver.
“If they’re in it for aged care, if their heart is in it and that board really cares about the people, they will donate that money back here.”
The motion saw a wave of hands raised as members of the community sought to do their part to advocate for future care options moving forward.
Details on the development of a working group, and how members of the community can get involved, will be published in future editions of the Terang Express.
High needs is a high need.
THE need to ensure high-needs residential care options remained available to members of the community was among the points to receive overwhelming support.
Dixie’s Elizabeth English voiced her support for acute care, stating she had recently gone through the heartbreaking process of seeking residential aged care support for a loved one.
“Having gone through the process of having to find care in the last six months for a family member, can I say I appreciate comments about independent living but I think what this community needs is residential care,” she said.
“We can cope at home for so long with the independent living services that are provided but when it comes to the stage that we need to have our loved ones in permanent residential care, that’s what we need to be looking for.”
Mr O’Connor was among those to voice support for residential care.
He said while independent living options were important to consider, an emphasis needed to be placed on ensuring those in need of high-needs care can receive support in Terang.
“I think high needs aged care is really important, it’s going to grow and grow,” Mr O’Connor said.
“We’re an aging population, dementia is becoming more prevalent as we’re living longer, and people just can’t stay in their own home.
“There are other high needs that can’t be left at home so we still need that care in the community.”
May Noonan will not be forgotten
THE niece of May Noonan implored the community to fight to retain the “May Noonan” name in aged care moving forward.
Margaret Gee received applause from those in attendance, and strong agreement from the panel of speakers, after stating the “May Noonan” name should be retained in future plans.
“One of the things we should trying do as we move forward is preserve the May Noonan name, and I think that will be an important part of what we need to do,” Mr Tehan said.
“That’s something the working group should look to do.”
Cr Beard agreed with the sentiment.
“It’s really important we don’t forget legacies such as May Noonan,” she said.
In addition, Cr Conheady said Lyndoch Living had made a commitment to ensure the fixtures and items at May Noonan, including artwork, would be returned to the families and the Terang community.
“Some could also be passed on the Terang Historical Society for safekeeping,” she said.
“We’ve had a benefit from that facility since 1974 which has brought a lot of comfort to families.
“It’s not going to be forgotten why it was there in the first place, and the emphasis of Terang to make it a viable option for our elderly.
“From a council perspective, we’ll get behind the community and support that.”
