HEALTH workers are vowing to protest outside the office of member for Bendigo East Jacinta Allan, saying clients at the Sandhurst Centre in White Hills have been betrayed by broken promises.
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The Sandhurst Centre, which has been home to some 30 residents with disabilities, is due to close this year.
Lloyd Williams, Health and Community Services Union state secretary, said the state government had done a “complete back-flip” on plans that would have allowed residents to stay in public care.
“They have betrayed the promises they made to the residents, staff and families, not just at the Sandhurst Centre but right across the state,” he said.
The state government has committed to housing the clients in newly constructed care homes operated in the community by not-for-profit groups Melba Support Services and Karden Disability Support Foundation.
Mr Williams said that before the election, Premier Daniel Andrews “gave us a commitment that they would remain a service provider, that they would not privatise”.
“Now those workers feel betrayed. What contracting out means is effectively a cutting of costs – they are transferring workers to a lower-paid sector,” he said.
The result, Mr Williams added, would be workers having no choice but to find other work, meaning care would be disrupted for clients who needed continuity.
Mr Williams said the changes would affect five other facilities – and about 100 clients – in Bendigo.
Opposition disability spokesman Tim Bull, a Nationals MP, has called on Ms Allan to clarify pledges made before the 2014 election.
“Jacinta Allan must immediately come clean to Sandhurst employees, residents and their families about her promises before the election,” he said.
“They’re primarily concerned about appropriate levels of care.”
For some clients, he said, staying in a public facility was a better option than what was being offered. Mr Bull acknowledged that the former government, led by Denis Napthine, had itself not promised that clients would be able stay in public care.
“The issue here is the dishonesty, saying one thing and doing another.”
Ms Allan said the government had provided clients with options.
“The Andrews Labor government committed to provide choice to Sandhurst residents about their future and that's exactly what we're delivering,” she said.
“And in the process we're working with residents, their families, staff and the union to deliver this commitment.”
