The Hay Shire Council Aged Care Roundtable was held last Monday and was organised by the Australian Department of Health and Aged Care Local Network.
More than 25 people attended, representing Council, Haydays, Hay Multi-Purpose Service, and aged care providers and support services.
Hay Shire Council General Manager David Webb said he and Executive Manager Economic Development and Tourism Alison McLean have been working on legacy housing proposals with renewable energy developers.
“What we want to do is develop independent living options as part of the legacy left by wind and solar farms,” Mr Webb said.
“That’s the goal.”
Council is working towards a health and aged care precinct, centred around the site of the current medical centre, hospital and Haydays, and is seeking the government’s input to progress the concept.
“We have an ageing population, and how can we as a town cope with the increase pressure on medical services,” Mr Webb said.
“Then we need to accommodate the added pressure of up to a thousand renewable energy workers if we get these developments going.
“How are we going to service them from an accommodation and medical point of view – that’s what we have been working on for the past two year.”
Council is considering the construction of up to 20 one- or two-bedroom units.
“We have residents who might want to downsize, but they aren’t ready for Haydays but we have not other options locally,” Mr Webb said.
“If we can offer small easily managed homes, that frees up large family homes throughout the town, for families.”
Housing for health care staff – nurses, doctors and aged care staff – is also being included in the precinct planning.
A career expo focusing of the opportunities in the industry was one of the outcomes of the roundtable meeting, with service providers agreeing it would be valuable to showcase the possibilities in career progression.
Additionally, Council has identified the barriers to attracting workers to Hay and focused around housing and childcare and Mr Webb said he expects announcements on progress in the near future.
“If we can solve those two issues, obviously everything else can flow on from there,” he said.
This article appeared in The Riverine Grazier, 23 October 2024.
