A meeting was held at the Southern Cross Care Retirement Village in Harden this morning at 10:30am.

Sources told the Times that an announcement was made that 35 patients will be relocated to other facilities and that the facility will close after that.

The Times has been contacted by a number of resident’s families regarding the shock news and the reasoning provided for the closure. More to come.

A locksmith was on site today as was the Health Services Union.

Another meeting will be held at 7:00pm tonight to provide further information.

Both Southern Cross Care and the Health Services Union were contacted for comment.

Southern Cross Care provided the following Statement.

Southern Cross Care NSW & ACT (SCC) has made the difficult decision to close its Harden Residential Aged Care Facility (St Lawrence) in the coming months. SCC currently operates three Residential Aged Care Facilities within the Hilltops Council area: Harden, Young and Cootamundra (185 aged care beds). Including other providers, there are 330 aged care beds in total in the Hilltops region.

Despite an increasingly ageing population in Australia, the demand for aged care beds at St Lawrence has been below the industry average over the past three years. This reflects Harden’s smaller population and the oversupply of services in the area. The necessary and significant capital investment in the Murrumburrah-Harden Health Service has delivered a local modern aged care service with 24-hour clinical care with up to 33 beds.

There is also an industry-wide shortage of skilled health professionals and aged care staff in regional areas, including towns like Harden. SCC Chief Executive Officer Helen Emmerson says, “we understand this is a difficult time for our residents and staff, and we recognise the impact this will have on the community.”

As a not for profit provider of aged care services, SCC remains committed to our mission of providing quality care services to regional NSW, including the Hilltops area. Consequently, we will maximise our focus on our Young and Cootamundra homes. Ms Emmerson says, “supporting our residents, their families and staff is a key focus at this time. We will work closely with residents and their families to identify alternative accommodation and care services during this transition – either within Southern Cross Care NSW & ACT facilities or with other providers.”

HSU Aged Care Manager, Lauren Hutchens said: “This closure is heartbreaking news for residents and staff. We will be doing our utmost to push the employer, Southern Cross, to find alternative work for all affected employees.

“This is another symptom of the federal Government having no funding plan for aged care, especially in regional Australia.”