A chief executive officer of residential aged care facilities says she was "a little bit ambushed" in a joint meeting on Thursday with state and federal representatives, including Health Minister Greg Hunt's office.
Southern Cross Care NSW and ACT announced it will be closing two aged care facilities in Bombala and Lake Macquarie due to staffing shortages.
The closure was announced Wednesday morning by the chief executive officer of the NSW and ACT branch of Southern Cross Care, Helen Emmerson, who said the decision was "solely in the interests of our residents".
"Minister Hunt's office said we need to do everything we can to keep the facility open, but it's not as simple as throwing staff at it," Ms Emmerson said.
A spokesperson for Mr Hunt responded by saying, "We are unapologetic about doing everything we can to support the residents of this and other facilities.
"We realise that the operator does not want to keep this facility operating. However we do."
Discussions on the aged care home have been ongoing, Ms Emmerson said.
"I had been engaging with key stakeholders prior to the announcement and we're more than happy to talk to senior politicians on managing Bombala, however for us as a provider we can't continue to operate there," she said.
"The overused expression is that the aged care industry is in crisis and the government needs to work with us because right now it's very reactive."
The meeting was referred to by Mr Hunt in question time, after Labor member for Eden-Monaro Kristy McBain asked about the Bombala aged care home in her electorate.
She originally posed the question to Prime Minister Scott Morrison, asking: "When will the Prime Minister stop playing political games, do his job and fix this crisis?"
Mr Hunt took the question instead, saying: "At my request the Department of Health is today meeting with the council, representatives of the state government and representatives of the community.
"They are assessing options to deal with this particular facility."
The purpose of the meeting was to focus on finding a solution for the short term strategy, and to progress a longer-term strategy, to meet the needs of the residents and the Bombala community, according to Mr Hunt's office.
The Health Minister also instructed theDepartment of Health to work with the council and the facility to seek a resolution, and has also been engaged with Senator Jim Molan and Regional Health and Mental Health Minister Bronnie Taylor, whose office also had a representative at the meeting.
Ms Emmerson said the government apparently thought it was simple to run an aged care facility, but use of the ADF would be "not appropriate".
"We've got huge vacancies and don't have registered nurses or doctors, and I cannot sit back and risk my residents," she said.
Speaking about the issue on Thursday, Ms McBain said there was a need to prioritise how staff were trained, and to ensure that they would stay.
"We're seeing medical staff getting burnt out," she said.
The Bombala facility was developed in 1979 and run by the Currawarna Hostel Board until 2006, when the deed was transferred to Southern Cross Care NSW and ACT, which took over operations in 2008.
Ms McBain said the centre was an important part of the community.
"This part of the land was gifted by the local community, and [is] the only facility in 100 kilometres. It's another blow to the town off the back of drought and bushfires, and I don't know how feasible it is to move people to a faclility more than 100 kilometres away," she said.
