More aged care needed at Bourke

Whiddon’s Aged Care facility in Bourke. - but locals say more aged care beds are needed in town. Photo TWH

Bourke Shire Council’s lengthy community consultation has identified the need for a new level of aged care in town.

Bourke Mayor Lachlan Ford said the demand for this type of facility had been a common theme in feedback that councillors and council staff have received in recent meetings around the shire.

“Providing care for our elderly was a concern for a lot of people,” Councillor Ford said. “Having enough beds and rooms for people locally is always an issue.”

“Aged care is certainly costly and while these places are often run by private business, they need numbers to sustain running these facilities,” he said.

“State government cost shifting, by moving financial burden to local councils always makes it harder for us to get involved, but we’ll fight and beat the drum for our community.

“If we need a new or different facility, then that’s what we need to look at.”

Councillor Ford said that both the Residential Aged Care facility at the Bourke hospital and Whiddon’s 12 room Rivergum Lodge were at capacity.

“Obviously, that means that there is a call for more spaces,” he said. “Understandably, people don’t want to leave their communities when they get older.”

“They want to stay here in Bourke, or they want to stay in Louth - wherever they live. That’s something that I respect, but eventually most of us will need a facility that we can go into and it’s a costly affair.”

Bourke Shire Council General Manager Leonie Brown agreed with Councillor Ford that there was a need for new aged care spaces in Bourke. […]

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