By NOEL MURPHY
EMOTIONAL claims of betrayal and anxiety are flying as residents petition against the sale of Portarlington’s Ann Nichol House.
Bellarine Community Health (BCH) wants to sell the 80-bed aged care facility after assuring the community of its future in February.
Member for Bellarine Lisa Neville raised the issue in state parliament this week, calling on ministers to block the sale of the Crown land site in Wills St.
Geelong councillors have also agreed to oppose the sale.
“I am disappointed that the Government are not moving quicker on this issue,” Ms Neville told Parliament.
“I had provided the minister with the details hours before raising and indicated that they must act urgently to save Ann Nichol House.”
Ms Neville said Bellarine Community Health had given assurances at its annual general meeting and again in February that it would maintain ownership of Ann Nichol House.
The change of heart, without community consultation, had caused “serious concern and anxiety” among residents, she said.
Residents who recently faced the closure of BCH’s 40-bed Coorabin aged care facility at Point Lonsdale felt “doubly betrayed”.
BCH chief John Fendyk said his organisation’s primary focus was its “duty of care to the residents of Ann Nichol House”.
“For our loyal and hard-working employees at the site, it is business as usual. In fact, the purchase of Ann Nichol House brings opportunities for the future expansion of the facility into the future, potentially creating much-needed jobs for the Geelong and Bellarine region.”
The BCH board decided in 2013 to withdraw from residential aged care.
Ward councillor Lindsay Ellis said the community was “extremely concerned” about Ann Nichol House and the impact of any sale on residents’ opportunities to “age in place on the Bellarine”.
