President allays fears of Narrogin Regional Homecare employees who worry about job security under Silverchain

Narrogin’s shire president has moved to allay the job security fears of regional homecare ancillary workers, who have expressed concern they will be dropped in the shire’s transition to an external national provider. Leigh Ballard confirmed Silverchain, which has been approved to take over the shire-run Narrogin Regional Homecare service, would keep on ancillary workers. The role of ancillary workers role entails providing supplementary support to enable seniors and people with disabilities to live independently, and includes transportation, meal delivery, housekeeping, and home maintenance. Cr Ballard said Silverchain “has committed to working closely with the shire to facilitate employment opportunities for staff”. The decision was triggered by changes to homecare under the new Aged Care Act 2024 and Support at Home implemented on November 1 last year, which the shire resolved would be better handled by an external provider. A closed-door council meeting on December 17 saw a 6-1 vote in favour of Silverchain to take the reins of the service, with the Department of Health, Disability and Ageing expected to approve the council’s decision by mid-March. The transition period will take effect after the DHDA’s verdict. Cr Ballard said the transition would involve full continuity of service, commitment to a local presence and local employment, and strengthened sustainability of aged care services for the community. Backing the council decision to approve the external provider, he said the council had ensured the new provider could deliver a seamless transition. “Silverchain is an approved aged care provider for both Commonwealth home support packages and support at home,” he said. “They offer healthcare and ancillary services for aged care clients including nursing and allied health services, personal care, social support, in-home respite care, transport, and domestic assistance. “In their expression of interest submission, Silverchain also advised they will provide meals on wheels and home gardening maintenance through contracted services for clients.” Despite the reassurance, a Narrogin Regional Homecare employee, who wished to remain anonymous, said he and his colleagues were unsure whether their jobs would be kept after the June 30 transition. The employee said his fears lay in the lack of clarity and information provided by the shire surrounding the ancillary services offered to homecare clients following the transition. He said the transition focused on the medical services and made no mention of anything supplementary. He said he was afraid those in charge of the transition “do not understand the depth of what we do” and how vital ancillary workers were to clients. “We feel the shire’s judgments weren’t made on a true basis of knowing what the services Silverchain were going to do, what are they going to carry forward and what are they going to dump,” he said. “And nobody knows what that is because nobody will give an answer. “After six months there seems to be no guarantee with what happens to all the ancillary services and the people employed there. “It’s been quite openly spoken about that all those people will be dismissed — the gardeners, the people who drive clients around to take them to appointments. “They’re really upset, scared and worried about what’s going to happen.” The employee is concerned if ancillary staff are laid off, nurses will “have to pick up the slack”, leading to overwork, or potentially those services no longer being offered to clients He is also afraid the chosen external provider will replace current local staff with its own. Jessie House, a Narrogin-based activity and respite day centre for homecare clients to maintain and enhance their independence while providing respite to carers, has also not been mentioned in the transition. The employee said those who lived outside of the shire, including in Wagin and Williams, were afraid their care would not be guaranteed after the transition. “The older people that rely on that service have gotten wind that something’s coming, and they’re scared,” he said.