BY OLIVIA DILLON
Aged care workers are calling on the Hunter New England Local Health District to keep the Wallsend Aged Care Facility open and in public hands.
68 of the facility's 98 beds have been left empty for the past two years, as the district claims recruitment issues are stopping them from hiring more staff.
Health Services Union members say they've seen no evidence the district has been working to recruit more staff at all.
Assistant Secretary Lynne Russell, says workers and residents alike are set to be affected if the service is closed.
"It beggars belief as to why you would use public hospital beds to accommodate our aged care residents, who really need specialised care in an aged care facility, yet close down a whole unit," she said.
"It doesn't make any sense."
Wallsend MP, Sonia Hornery says she'd like to see the facility used for geriatric patients which are currently causing bed block at the John Hunter and Belmont Hospitals.
She says she's in discussions with the Parliamentary Secretary for Mental Health to make better use of the facility.
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| Image: Newcastle Herald |
