A NSW state Labor MP is questioning why a 98-bed public aged care home in the Newcastle suburb of Wallsend has not taken a new resident in more than two years.
The Wallsend Aged Care Facility, run by Hunter New England Health, is operating at under 40% capacity despite receiving around $10 million per year in recent budgets.
Sonia Hornery, MP for Wallsend (pictured), told the Newcastle Herald that Wallsend Aged Care is not being “properly utilised” despite demand for aged care and a “bed block” problem in “overwhelmed” local hospitals.
“I’m told that both John Hunter and the Calvary Mater hospitals can have substantial numbers of beds taken up by patients who are waiting for vacancies in aged care facilities.
“Why isn’t the government using Wallsend to relieve bed block by caring for patients who cannot go home, but who no longer need to be in an acute care hospital?” she asked.
A spokesperson for Hunter New England Health ascribed the low occupancy rate to hesitation on the part of potential residents due to the pandemic, and said there are no plans to close the facility.
