It is widely agreed a new aged care bed today costs between $400,000 to $500,000. These are For Profit and Not For Profit built aged care beds.
It seems the largesse of the taxpayer, particularly the Victorian taxpayer, knows no bounds. The Victorian Government is spending $41.1 million for a 24-bed aged care home in Cohuna, 275km north of Melbourne and it has released designs by ClarkeHopkinsClarke Architects to back it up. This comes after The Weekly SOURCE reported the same State Government was spending $62.8 million on a new 30-bed residential aged care facility and the refurbishment of the 42-bed Bindaree Retirement Centre in the small town of Mansfield, 180km northeast of Melbourne's CBD.
The new residential dementia-friendly facility will be co-located with and operated by Cohuna District Hospital. It will have 16 aged care beds and eight acute beds. All aged care rooms will be singles with ensuites, and the designs feature large and functional spaces to support the mobility and care of residents.
The Cohuna development is part of the Victorian Government's Regional and Rural Public Sector Residential Aged Care Services Revitalisation Strategy aimed at modernising ageing facilities in regional areas of the state. In the state's May budget, the Government included $162 million for public sector residential aged care facilities at local hospitals in the regional towns of Cohuna, Maffra, and Numurkah. At the time, $38.2 million was allocated for Cohuna, nearly 6% less than the current cost of the project quoted by the Victorian Government.
Work is expected to begin on the Cohuna project later this year, with the project targeted for completion in 2027.
