THIRTY residents of a Werribee nursing home will need to find alternative accommodation and many staff face redundancy as the operator pushes ahead with plans for a multimillion-dollar redevelopment.
But Baptcare has assured Wyndham Lodge residents and their families no one will be forced out, saying there are enough places at other nursing homes in Wyndham and the western suburbs and pledging to help them through the transition.
Management hopes to start building a multi-storey development after October 31, boosting capacity from 60 to 150 and bringing the facility “up to a modern standard”.
Operations manager Lindon Le Griffon told a meeting last Thursday that while no residents were being asked to leave, capacity needed to be halved during the two-year construction period.
Some family members criticised Baptcare for allowing new admissions to the Synnot Street nursing home as recently as last December. Mr Le Griffon said Baptcare had hinged hopes on buying neighbouring land to avoid being forced to downsize.
“We were hoping we could do that so we could keep operating and not disrupt so many people, but when we couldn’t buy that site we only had this to work with.”
The works mean as many as 30 aged-care workers will lose their jobs.
Mr Le Griffon hoped some could be moved into the low-care ward during construction or relocated to Baptcare’s Westhaven nursing home at Footscray.
Werribee resident Marie, whose 87-year-old father lives in the high-care unit, accused management of overlooking how sensitive the issue was to residents and families.
“I don’t care about their new facility – it’s irrelevant to me,” said Marie, who didn’t want her surname used.
“For people who have lived there six or seven years, it’s not easy and the whole process shows no heart.”
