For countless families, The Mercy has been at the heart of the local Singleton community. Importantly, The Mercy has been a saviour for families from neighbouring towns who have loved ones receiving genuine professional care that is above and beyond the care that they previously received elsewhere.
Mercy Aged Care in Singleton will close after serving the community for 40 years but it won’t come without a fight.
Residents and their families representatives were invited to a meeting at the home at 2pm on Tuesday afternoon with no indication of what that meeting was about.
Staff were told of the closure while residents and their families waited in the dining room for the meeting to start.
Shortly after 2pm Mercy Community Services Australia Ltd Board chairman Charles Reis and board director Janet Farrow then addressed those gathered and told them of the board’s decision to close the facility.
Mr Reis said the building was old, government regulations were stricter along with compliance and safeguard controls and all this came at a cost of overheads the organisation could no longer afford.
“We had a loss of $300,000 last year and $700,000 the year before,” Mr Reis told the shocked crowd who were completely unaware the facility was in any financial distress.
While the timeline for closure is early next year, Mr Reis said it will not close the doors until every resident had found a suitable place to go and said residents and their families will be supported throughout the process.
Family representatives were extremely critical of the manner in which the news was delivered.
Many residents were without the direct support of family given the short notice of the meeting and staff were given no time to consider the impact the news would have on those who call the Mercy home.
Given the obvious restrictions on staff speaking about the situation, daughter of one of the residents, Karen Collins, formed a steering committee taking on the role of group spokesperson.
“There is a lot we are not being told about the situation and we are going to find out,” Karen said.
“My father has experienced two other aged care facilities and we had concerns but the Mercy has offered him the care and respect he deserves and I cannot praise the staff enough.
“Singleton has two other care facilities and it is not like they have the vacancies to accommodate everyone at the Mercy, the situation is causing immense distress to the staff, the residents and their families and we will do everything we possibly can to get to the bottom of the situation and find a resolution.
“It is just a shock, there was no forewarning, no signs of financial struggles, no communication, nothing.
“As a community we will do everything to see the Mercy continue providing a home to its residents, its families, its friends and the dedicated staff who I believe are just as distressed about the situation as everyone else.”
