Members of a committee fighting to save a Melton aged-care centre from closure are disappointed and disheartened after a meeting with Western Health.
Save Reg Geary House members and representatives of Western Health, Melton council and Djerriwarrh Health met last Wednesday to discuss the possibility of keeping the Melton South nursing home open.
Western Health has decided to close the 30-bed nursing home by June 30 next year.
Save Reg Geary committee member Dirk Sauer said the group was facing an uphill battle. “It was a two-and-a-half-hour meeting and a lot was discussed,’’ he said.
‘‘We begged them to reconsider their decision.
“[Western Health chairman] Ralph Willis was very sympathetic and said he would take it back to the board, but it doesn’t look good.’’
Mr Sauer said an extra 50 beds, at a cost of $30,000 each, would need to be added to the facility to make it viable.
“You have to buy licences from other organisations as the government doesn’t give them out easily,’’ he said.
“Most likely, if [the centre] was bought by anyone else, they would look at having to knock it down and start again to update the facilities.”
Mr Sauer said the group was considering its next move.
A petition bearing more than 600 signatures was last week presented to the state government by Melton MP Don Nardella.
In Parliament, Mr Nardella urged Health Minister David Davis to reverse Western Health’s decision.
“The community of Melton is outraged that the lives of these residents of Reg Geary House and their families are being upended,’’ Mr Nardella said.
“The residents have to leave Reg Geary House, their home which they love, and have to find another place to call home.
‘‘It’s outrageous. There is no reason for this.”
