The son of a Riverina mother in aged care has slammed the accommodation costs at a Cootamundra nursing home.
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Former Cootamundra resident Paul Hogan said he was shocked to discover the Cootamundra Nursing Home (CNH) to be operating just within the non-governmentally approved maximum refundable accommodation deposit amount of $550,000.
Having recently removed his own mother from the CNH due to her health improving, Mr Hogan questioned the validity of such costs in comparison to other nursing homes across the Riverina.
“The prices are grossly unfair,” Mr Hogan said.
“It’s not equitable, it’s not reasonable, and I personally do not accept that the CNH is worth those prices … given the facilities and amenity offered.”
Mr Hogan cited Cootamundra’s median house price of $220,000 and asked how people in regional areas with middling assets such as property could possibly afford the CNH’s substantial $549,000 accommodation deposit.
“It is often said that the biggest purchase in one’s life is the purchase of a family home,” Mr Hogan said.
“However, it very likely their largest 'purchase' could be moving into the (CNH).
“How much does the community really know about what’s going on there?”
The CNH board has since responded, saying a significant portion of residents pay no more than a basic daily fee – set at 85 per cent of the single person rate of the basic age pension – and no accommodation bond at all.
CNH chairman Fred Byrne also cited the “complexities” of aged care policy, saying the home operated in alignment with the federal government’s “user pays” policy.
“In other words, those who can afford to pay are expected to,” Mr Byrne said.
The letter stresses the $549,000 accommodation payment is refundable.
“It is, however, important to be aware that bonds are repayable in full upon leaving,” Mr Byrne said.
He said the level of care that the Cootamundra Nursing Home offered was well above average.
“We are determined to keep it so,” he said. The chairman pointed out the facility is not-for-profit, and no one receives a dividend.
“Whatever profits we can make we put back into the care of our residents,” he said.
Member for Riverina Michael McCormack was contacted, but he was unavailable at the time of going to press.
