SENIORS who have children, siblings or other family members in group care homes are concerned at what impact imminent changes to staffing at the homes will have on their loved ones.
Many of the homes will move from the Department of Social Services, which currently provides the staff who care for the residents, to private enterprise.
As each home undergoes the changeover, residents will be faced with a complete staff change almost overnight. Don Williams, of Warnbro, has a 65-year-old brother living in one of these homes.
He and many others are concerned about the disruption to their family members’ lives. “These are vulnerable people, many of whom can’t speak for themselves,” he said.
“Many have physical, mental health issues and behavioural problems, of which the current staff know and recognise the warning signs.”
Mr Williams said many seniors had used the accommodation service for many years under the belief their family member had a stable home for life.
“Now the state government is in the process of selling off their family members to private enterprise,” he said. “They told us they would be keeping in contact with us all the way through the process and two months is too long not to be told what is going on.”
Mr Williams said he had met many people in a similar situation at Caring for Residents with Disabilities (CARD) group meetings.
The group was formed in 2014 in response to changes to accommodation for Disability Services Commission clients in Western Australia. “Hearing from others in a similar situation has been an eye-opener,” he said.
“It’s just unreal the trouble people are having with this transitioning.”
Kylie Turner who is the Campaigns and Community Organiser at CPSU/CSA (Community and Public Sector Union/ Civil Service Association of WA) said the staff changes would happen almost overnight causing major disruptions to the routines of residents.
