Carnarvon’s $19.9 million Gnullingoo Mia residential aged and palliative care facility is one step closer to welcoming residents, with the facility reaching practical completion.
‘Gnullingoo Mia’ is from the local Indigenous Inggarda words, which translated together mean ‘our home’.
With building works now complete, WA Country Health Service (WACHS) will move to the client commissioning phase that will see the installation of furniture and equipment including ICT, before welcoming residents.
“With client commissioning and landscaping works underway, we expect to be able to welcome residents from Poinciana Lodge to the new facility in late October,” acting regional director of Midwest, Karen Street, said.
Extensive gardens and open spaces are being developed by local company Gascoyne Landscaping to ensure residents feel at home.
“Sensory gardens featuring local native vegetation will give residents the opportunity to move around outside, relax and enjoy the surroundings,” Street added.
Carnarvon is a coastal town situated about 900kms north of Perth.
It lies at the mouth of the Gascoyne River on the Indian Ocean.
The 38-bed capacity facility has been designed to support contemporary models of care with accommodation for couples and family members, as well as palliative-enabled rooms for residents with life-limiting conditions.
The facility’s state-of-the-art technology will allow local traditional owners to stay on Country for medical treatment.
It will allow local people with greater care needs to stay on Country in residential accommodation and will cater to a wide range of people who require permanent and respite care and are unable to live independently at home.
Gnullingoo Mia is co-located at Carnarvon Hospital – enabling integration with other health services and specialties ensuring residents have the very best clinical care close at hand, including the latest telehealth-enabled facilities.
“We wanted their new home to be comfortable, bright and well-appointed, while also ensuring that we are providing culturally safe healthcare in a community setting,” Street said.
Street said the WACHS Midwest team consulted with senior Inggarda Elders and the Bundiyarra – Irra Wangga Language Centre to pick the facility’s name.
She said the name highlights the close connection the community feels to the land and the region.
“The development of the Gnullingoo Mia Residential Care facility is incredibly important to the people of Carnarvon and we wanted the name to represent the history and culture of the Inggarda people,” she said.
