Just a day after Wesley Mission made national headlines with the closure of its Sydney aged care homes, the West Australian Not For Profit has revealed it has made the difficult decision to close three of its smallest and older aged care facilities over the next 12 months.
Brightwater has 13 aged care homes (including two transitional care homes) across Perth with 725 beds, plus a 168-unit retirement village, disability and home care services, and its own Research Centre.
The three homes – Joondalup (20 beds), Huntingdale (30 beds) and South Lake (30 beds, pictured) – are each around 30 years old and were designed as lower care sites.
Size, design and workforce reforms a factor
The age, design and size of these facilities – combined with the introduction of 24/7 Registered Nurses in July and mandated staffing minutes from October – had led the organisation to announce the closure of its facilities, said Brightwater CEO Catherine Stoddart.
“We are proud of the high level of care we provide to our residents. Unfortunately, modelling of our rosters to meet the new minimum staffing requirements has shown that our smallest facilities will not be best placed to deliver the quality of care we pride ourselves on in a financially sustainable way,” Prof. Stoddart stated.
“On behalf of all families and residents who call Brightwater home, we have a responsibility to ensure the long-term delivery of high quality care and ensure the sustainability [of] our business.
Residents to be relocated over 12 months
The 75 residents across the three homes will be relocated to alternative facilities within the Brightwater group or other homes over the next 12 months.
“We do not want to rush this process,” said Prof. Stoddart. “It is critical we find the right facility for each resident and ensure their transition is as smooth as possible.”
The 160 staff at the sites will also be supported to find alternative employment within the Brightwater group.
“We have recently opened a 128-bed facility at Inglewood which creates opportunity for staff and this will mean there is no reduction in our total number of residential aged care beds compared to 2022,” said Prof. Stoddart.
“Brightwater is committed to ensuring the safety and care of our residents and we are committed to the long-term sustainability of our aged care facilities. Decisions like this are not easy, however, it is critical for the ongoing delivery of our business.”
WA challenged on workforce
The closure announcement is the second in as many days that has cited workforce challenges as a factor – on Thursday, Not For Profit Wesley Mission said it would close its three remaining Sydney aged care homes over the new staffing requirements.
Western Australia is particularly challenged to meet the new requirements for 24/7 RNs and 40 minutes of direct care from a Registered Nurse as it has a higher proportion of Enrolled Nurses than the other states.
As we reported here, Brightwater Care was one of a group of larger WA providers that had forecast up to 30% of aged care beds in the state could close under the 24/7 RN requirement.
The question now is: how many other providers are weighing up bed closures due to the reforms?
