Barry Hall is one of the latest Mercy Nursing Home casualties.
Last Friday he farewelled the town he has known since 1991 and there were many goodbyes said.
But none harder than the goodbyes he shared with his daughter, Mel Muddiman, and her family who also call Singleton home.
Barry is not just leaving Singleton; he flew out to New Zealand last weekend in a choice he says he was forced to make.
With no residential aged care spaces offered to Barry in Singleton after the announced closure of Mercy Rest Home, he made the very difficult decision to move back to Christchurch to a home close to his son, Tony.
“If this place wasn’t closing, I would not be thinking about moving, it is a sad time for me at the moment,” Barry told The Hunter River Times.
Mel described the situation as very unfair.
“This decision was taken away from us, we are not the only ones who have been affected by the Board’s decision to close the facility by the end of March,” Mel said adding that they just needed more time that she believed, would have offered more options.
There were many farewells for Barry. He had a farewell at the Men’s Shed, spent his last night selling raffle tickets at the Horse and Jockey for the same organisation a week ago, received a guard of honour at the Mercy Nursing Home on his return that night and was so busy he forgot to attend his farewell by the Singleton Probus Club.
Barry has lived at the Mercy Aged Care Facility since 2023. He lived in relatively independent living rooms upstairs and spent most mornings at the Men’s Shed, a stone’s throw away from the Mercy.
“My son has checked out the Men’s Shed in Christchurch, I guess I will go along to that. This has been a decision out of necessity, not one of choice,” Barry said, adding that he will miss his family and many friends he has since moving to Singleton in 1991.
No doubt, they will him miss too.
