Community
23 June, 2023
Aged care on agenda
A COMMUNITY meeting has been scheduled to provide an opportunity to discuss the future of aged care in Terang.
Terang Progress Association will host the community meeting, which will centre around a theme of what the future the aged care in Terang looks like, with a forum-style approach including a panel of speakers and opportunities for the community to ask questions.
The meeting will be held on Wednesday, July 5 from 7pm at the Civic Hall in Terang.
Terang Progress Association president Ken McSween said the aim of the meeting was to draw in a range of speakers who can facilitate a healthy discussion on what aged care in Terang looks like in the future.
He said the theme was designed to acknowledge the difficulty the community faced after Lyndoch Living announced it would shut down Terang’s May Noonan aged care facility, but would also allow those involved to focus on the overall impact the decision has on aged care in the region.
“We’re hoping the meeting has greater implications than just what is happening at May Noonan,” Mr McSween said.
“We’re looking at the demographics of Terang over the next five years of where the aged population in Terang will be.
“I feel by using a positive tone, we can have a meaningful discussion on where the people want aged care in the town to be.”
The meeting will also be live-streamed via the Terang Progress Association’s ‘Terang: small town, big heart’ Facebook page.
“This situation not only affects residents of Terang but the families from further afield, so we wanted to live-stream it to ensure anyone who is unable to make it on the night can follow along.”
Mr McSween said the date, theme and the format was confirmed, but other details such as who will be speaking was still undergoing a confirmation process.
“The theme that we’re using is ‘what does the future of aged care in Terang look like?’,” he said.
“We’ve got a few people already confirmed to be attending including Wannon MP Dan Tehan, but we don’t know if he will be on the panel.
“Terang and Mortlake Health Service chief executive officer Julia Ogdin will be in attendance, and a representative of Lyndoch Living have said they will be there; exactly who, I don’t know, but I’m hoping it will be one of the uppers.
“We’ll be having a panel on the stage, who will have separate microphones, and we’ll have roaming microphones in the gallery for people to ask questions of their own.”
Members of the community wanting to submit questions in advance will have an opportunity to do so through submission boxes in town.
“We’re planning to have boxes for members of the community to submit their written questions in advance; which at this stage we believe will be located at the Terang IGA Co-op and Terang Post Office,” Mr McSween said.
“There will be forms where people can write their name and question, and we’ll go through those at a later date to prepare for the community meeting.”
Western District Newspapers readers are invited to send their questions through to terangexpress@wdnews.com.au, which we are happy to submit on your behalf.
