In closing Feros Village Byron Bay, Feros Care reaffirmed to the Department of Health and Aged Care that the buildings don’t meet today’s building requirements for a residential aged care facility under the Aged Care Act.
Irrespective of NSW Minister for Lands and Property identifying a preferred operator to lease the site, Feros Care notes that the Department of Health and Aged Care is yet to approve the new provider.
Feros Care’s position is unchanged. We remain concerned for the welfare and safety of the eight remaining residents who refused to leave the Byron Bay home and for any future residents.
Without significant redevelopment requiring residents to relocate, there is no proposal that can bring the current buildings to the National Construction Code 9C requirements for residential aged care. This is based on the advice from local experts in town planning, bush fire management and building certification.
The buildings are unsuitable and unsafe for residents and need much more than a simple makeover before opening with a new provider in place.
Currently two thirds of the resident rooms are built within the bushfire asset protection zone, which by today’s safety standards is not allowed.
Feros Care had proposed a multi-million dollar investment in Byron Bay to build a different form of affordable accommodation for up to 80 seniors. This proposal would have met all the government building code requirements and house twice the number of residents that the current non-compliant buildings can accommodate.
Feros Care Chief Executive Karen Crouch said, “Feros Care remains fully committed to serving hundreds of seniors in the region and 35,000 people nationally through its home and residential aged care and disability coordination services”.
Media Contact: Luke Roberts, Cape Public Relations Pty Ltd – 0422855930, [email protected]
