Terang's May Noonan aged care home gains accreditation, closure date finalised

An audit report from the national Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission delivered on June 23 found May Noonan compliant in the two remaining areas where it had failed the aged care standards previously.

But the good news jarred with the centre's imminent closure, as most residents left May Noonan over the past week for Lyndoch's Warrnambool facility or other aged care homes in the region.

It left just four residents at May Noonan, with Lyndoch acting chief executive officer Jill Davidson announcing the facility would close for good on July 12.

"Many residents have already chosen and relocated to their new home (and) further transfers will occur Friday and Monday," Ms Davidson said.

"We wish to reaffirm our commitment to the ongoing safety and quality of care throughout the remainder of the closure process."

The federal government continues to provide surge staff so the facility can maintain staffing levels in its final weeks.

Staff from the aged care commission visited May Noonan on June 20 to check residents were receiving proper care through the transition. Ms Davidson said the commission representatives "were satisfied that the residents were receiving the level of care expected".

She described May Noonan's full accreditation as "a good news story" amid the pain of the closure.

"This means that May Noonan is compliant in all 44 (national aged care) standards, so fully accredited," she said.

But Ms Davidson acknowledged the timing was bittersweet.

"Yes, it is sad that we have reached the ideal in quality outcomes yet we need to close the facility," she said.

The Standard asked why the community should celebrate the fact May Noonan had become fully compliant, given the facility only has four residents left and would close completely within two weeks. Ms Davidson said the improvements at the Terang facility were reflective of changes across the organisation.

"Even though May Noonan is closing, the community of the south-west who have family living at Lyndoch in Warrnambool will be reassured to know that the clinical staff at Lyndoch Living have built competence internally and have reached compliance without the assistance of external experts," she said.

The full compliance does represent a radical turnaround from mid-2022, when May Noonan was threatened with sanctions and forced to bring in defence force personnel to cover an "immediate and severe risk" to residents because of slipping standards and staffing levels.

The latest audit, conducted on June 16, was testing the centre's compliance with risk management standards, particularly relating to administering medication and documenting incidents.

Ms Davidson said Lyndoch had introduced an interactive electronic "reflective tool" that tracked medication errors and communicated directly with the clinical team, sending data through to Lyndoch's newly formed Medical Advisory Committee (MAC).

She said Lyndoch's committee was "one of the most comprehensive" MACs she had seen and was "well supported by a consulting pharmacist".

The audit noted major improvements to staff education and "ongoing staff engagement with a range of medication training modules, including use of the medication reflection tool and annual medication competencies".

Ms Davidson said all those improvements would have carryover benefits for the Warrnambool nursing home and hostel.

"Lyndoch now has the expertise and capability to remediate issues and sustain quality outcomes which is good news for the residents and families at the Warrnambool site," she said.

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