Old Mt Henry Hospital to replaced by a new facility

9/8/95

The old Mt Henry Hospital and nursing home is to be replaced by a new facility with up to 40 beds; more nursing home beds allocated to country areas and specific funding to care for those with special needs.

Health Minister Graham Kierath said the Government's decision would see a significant improvement in standards for the residents of Mt Henry under a plan which would be phased in over 18 months.

The policy addressed the Government's decision in principle to transfer the majority of its nursing home beds progressively to the private sector and organisations such as Silver Chain and Homes of Peace, a move supported by the Commonwealth which has a primary responsibility for nursing home aged care.

The policy would:

·       create the new Mt Henry facility to care for those with special needs, and possibly 10 more beds for slow-stream rehabilitation and palliative care patients;

·       provide for more appropriate residential care options for the 24 young disabled people currently at Mt Henry;

·       locate rehabilitation and day hospital services more widely across the community;

·       ensure that people awaiting placement in nursing homes received good quality care; and -

·       work for the establishment of a chair in Geriatric Medicine at a Western Australian teaching hospital.

Mr Kierath said it was not intended that residents would be forced to leave Mt Henry.

"I will stand by my commitment that nobody will be asked to move unless they are going to equal or better facilities and care," he said. 

"We have set a target of 18 months.  During that assessment time for options on moving each patient every effort will be made to meet their preferences and those of their families.

"Our decision to transfer nursing home beds to the private sector and organisations such as Silver Chain and Homes of Peace is driven by one simple fact - the accommodation it provides is so much better.

"Mt Henry exists because it provides a level of care above most nursing homes - but that excellent care is provided in an old and crowded setting and residents can do much better.

"There will be no extra fees and we will provide extra funding to ensure that people who need it can continue to get that special level of care once they move to new first-class accommodation. 

"Those residents who move should know that those who moved before them from Mt Henry now enjoy much better housing, with their own or twin-share bathrooms, a more home-like environment and their own gardens.  Those are the living standards all our nursing home residents should enjoy.

"However, we cannot provide this improved accommodation, plus the better facilities for young disabled people and those who need rehabilitation, and retain Mt Henry as it is.

"The Commonwealth has overall responsibility for nursing homes, and its figures show that the Mt Henry area has a very high concentration of beds.

"We want to shift the services to locations that are spread across the community and therefore more accessible to nursing home residents and their families, as well as the young disabled and people needing restorative care or rehabilitation."

Mr Kierath said the Commonwealth played an important role in the plan to rationalise State Government nursing home beds.

The State had agreed to relinquish 396 bed approvals and the Commonwealth would pay a higher subsidy on the 842 beds retained.

The new arrangements also would enable the provision of more and better long-term nursing home accommodation in country areas, in multi-purpose services and nursing homes.

Mr Kierath said he had met with clients and staff at Mt Henry to repeat his personal commitment that they would be looked after and to explain why the Government had decided to close the hospital.

The Government's decision followed a recommendation from the Health Department that, after consideration of a report by the Health Solutions consultancy which consulted with key stakeholders, it saw no substantial case for retaining the majority of nursing home services at Mt Henry.

Mr Kierath said the concept of specific funding for people with special needs was integral to the policy of transferring residents to better accommodation.

Funding for these initiatives comes from:

·       savings from the closure of Sunset Hospital;

·       savings from the closure of Mt Henry Hospital and sale of most of the site; and -

·       higher Commonwealth subsidies.

"The care of young disabled people will go to the Disability Services Commission to ensure that they receive accommodation and care appropriate to their needs and age group," Mr Kierath said.

"We will provide transitional funding to make the move as smooth as possible.

"A human resources plan has been developed to help staff to relocate or retrain, and we will ensure that all staff have access to professional advice about their futures."

Media contact:  Brian Coulter 222 9595 / 481 2133