Council coordinates community meeting about Inglewood aged care need

Goondiwindi Regional Council will facilitate a community meeting to discuss the need for aged care facilities in Inglewood following the closure of the town’s only aged care home in October.

Nearly 400 people petitioned Council to facilitate a meeting following the sudden closure of the Churches of Christ (CoC) Inglewood Aged Care Service, known locally as Casa Mia, which left a number of residents having to source alternative living and care arrangements at short notice at the end of last year.

Council formally received the petition in its December meeting and resolved to support the submission in its Ordinary Meeting today.

Council understands that CoC Queensland is in active discussions with the Queensland Government’s Department of Resources (DoR), the lessor of the land, to determine the future use of the former Casa Mia site. Council has also made enquiries into the future use of the land.

The meeting will aim to determine options for the provision of aged care services in Inglewood. The discussion is open to all, with representatives from CoC and DoR invited to attend. Council invites all residents to attend on Monday, 8 February, 5.30pm at the Inglewood Civic Centre.

Mayor of the Goondiwindi region the Honourable Cr Lawrence Springborg AM said Council had requested transparency and clarity for the community around rumours of Casa Mia’s closure since July 2020.

Despite this, CoC gave families just three weeks to organise permanently relocating their loved ones before the care service shut in October.

“Council advocated for transparency and certainty from CoC, as local families needed to make informed decisions about the future of their - and their loved ones’ – care,” the Mayor said. “Unfortunately, there was a complete lack of transparency surrounding the facility’s sudden closure.

“As a result, Inglewood now lacks vital aged care services, and impacted residents have had to relocate to aged care facilities in other towns,” Cr Springborg said.

“While the provision of aged care services is ultimately in the realm of private enterprise and not local government, Council has strongly supported the need for an aged care facility in Inglewood and will certainly continue to advocate for just that now that Casa Mia has closed.”

• Details of Inglewood community meeting:
  Monday, 8 February, 5.30pm at the Inglewood Civic Centre. All residents welcome.