Aged care home to close for upgrade, residents to move

THE Golden Age Home in Lautoka will be closed for renovation by the end of this month, forcing the relocation of almost 40 residents to Labasa and Suva.

This decision was made after the deteriorating infrastructure at the site in Natabua, Lautoka, was deemed unsafe for habitation because of being termite-ridden and susceptible to damage following natural disasters.

Board of visitors secretary Selwa Nandan confirmed to this newspaper that final logistical arrangements were being made to move residents.

“Although it was an unplanned activity, I think the ministry is looking for funding to meet the cost of transporting and some might have to go by air because of their medical conditions and all those things are being worked out now,” he said.

“The building was in a very dilapidated condition and we were sort of worried about the safety and also the wellbeing of our residents so for some years we have been talking to the ministry to explore possibilities of building a new home.”

Initial talks between officials from the Ministry of Women, Children and Poverty Alleviation and the Golden Age Home board of visitors had resulted in an understanding that work in Lautoka would commence after ongoing renovations at the aged-care facility in Labasa.

However, Mr Nandan said they were still in the dark about the renovation at this stage as no confirmed timeframe was given regarding the start and completion of the said project.

“We were also looking at options because we have that eight-acre land there where the current home is based and we were saying we can start the construction of the new home and in the meantime, they (residents) can continue living in the current home with some temporary renovations to make the living environment better for them.

“That was one of the options we were looking at so we were given the impression that there will be some allocation made in the last budget for the construction of the new home. Unfortunately, that did not happen.”

According to Mr Nandan, the board considered the entire situation in totality and eventually decided the safety of the residents and staff were of paramount importance.

Keeping in mind that any renovation would take at least 18 months to complete, and with the onset of the cyclone season, Mr Nandan said it was risky to let people continue to occupy the degraded facilities.

“That was one of the reasons why we agreed with the ministry that the residents can be relocated temporarily to Labasa and Suva.

“There will be some social impact on the residents that we are concerned about, because they’ve been living together and now they’ll be separated and they will also be disconnected from their families living in the West.

“Those are some of the implications we are worried about but at the end of the day we are also concerned about their safety and wellbeing so it’s a compromise.”

Out of the 41 residents, about 13 are expected to be relocated to Labasa. Two have returned to their families and the rest will be relocated to Suva.

• Questions sent to the Ministry of Women, Children and Poverty Alleviation on Wednesday, and again yesterday, remained unanswered when this edition went to press.