Daylesford’s public aged care home is to be refurbished, with Central Highlands Rural Health (CHRH) securing funding through the Victorian Government’s Regional Health Infrastructure Fund (RHIF).
Labor’s candidate for Macedon, Annette Death, has welcomed the funding and says it is worth $7.8 million.
CHRH says the project will upgrade resident accommodation and shared living spaces at Daylesford Aged Care, on the hospital campus. The aim is “a more comfortable, modern and welcoming environment” for older residents.
The health service says the design has been shaped by feedback from residents, families, staff and community members. It reflects CHRH’s commitment to “safe, high-quality, person-centred care close to home”.
CHRH says it will keep the community updated as the project progresses.
The upgrade addresses a long-standing concern that the Daylesford aged care wing did not meet contemporary guidelines.
In 2021, the community pledged $100,000 in just eight weeks to fund a master plan for the hospital. That same year the RHIF provided the first major state money for the site, for an upgrade to the operating theatre, sterilising and recovery areas. Then Health Minister and Member for Macedon Mary-Anne Thomas turned the first sod on that project, by then valued at $6.148 million, in May 2023.
The aged care announcement comes a week before the caretaker period for the state election begins on Tuesday 3 November. After that, the government is expected to avoid entering major contracts or commitments that would bind an incoming government.
Ms Death, a former Macedon Ranges mayor, is contesting the seat following Ms Thomas’s retirement. Other candidates include former Macedon Ranges mayor Kate Kendall for the Liberals, Marley McRae McLeod (Greens) and Damien Parolin (One Nation).
The Wombat Post and Daylesford Rotary are sponsoring a Daylesford Conversations Election Forum with a panel of the Labor, Liberal, One Nation and Greens candidates on the 5th of November from 6-8 pm at the Daylesford Town Hall. This is a free event but you must register here to get a seat and seats are going fast.
