A spokesperson for GWAHS said the site is owned by NSW Health and has been approved for sale as part of the capital funding for the new Bathurst Hospital.

The announcement will come as a bitter blow to Bathurst residents fighting for the centre to be restored for use as an aged care centre.

In a story similar to that of the much-loved Daffodil Cottage, the people of Bathurst banded together in the seventies with mass fund-raising, free labour and donations to build the centre for the use by

the people.

“The former Bathurst Hospital Rehabilitation Centre... has been decommissioned following transfer of rehabilitation services to the new Bathurst Hospital,” a GWAHS spokesperson said.

“There is adequate capacity for [rehabilitation] services at the new Bathurst Hospital and therefore there is no intention to put services back into the old rehabilitation

centre.”

Greater Western Area Health Service closed the centre in 2006 so it could be sold with funds to go initially towards the hydrotherapy pool in the new hospital.

Bathurst residents are still waiting for a hydrotherapy pool to open at Bathurst Hospital while the empty rehabilitation centre is going

to waste.

Residents gathered at the centre yesterday to push for its reopening as an aged care facility.

“The people of Bathurst built this the same as Daffodil Cottage. We need to protect it for our own use,” said Margaret Mauro.

“Our age group are the ones who are going to need this. Here’s a pool going to waste and all sorts of facilities. They’re complaining about a lack of beds at the hospital - well you can fit beds in here. This is ideal and beautifully maintained. This is a perfectly sound building which was well designed and ahead of its time.”

Health Council member Russell Robins agreed saying there was a lack of aged care services in the region.

Pat Howard’s husband is a resident of Macquarie Care Centre. Mrs Howard said the care there was fantastic and she would like to see the same thing at the old rehab centre.

“I cannot speak highly enough of the care and facilities at Macquarie Care. My dream for Bathurst is to see Macquarie Care centres set up everywhere. I would like to see this building become the most caring and wonderful place to give to the disabled and aged in Bathurst,” Mrs Howard said.

President of the Combined Pensioners and Superannuants (CPSA), Ross McCourt, said there was a need in the community for more aged care services.

“So why destroy the one we’ve got?” he asked.

Cheryl Fogwell from the Seymour Centre said they were finding there was an increasing shortage of respite care in the region and the building could be used for social recreation.

Their argument is highlighted by the findings of a report from the Institute for Land, Water and Society at Charles Sturt University.

The report found that Bathurst will not be able to support its ageing population over the next 10 years.

Associate director of the institute, Professor Mark Morrison, directed the research group and said Bathurst needed to put in place more measures to deal with its ageing population.

“Basically we found two really large issues. One real issue was the lack of transportation. The other was the really serious lack of strategic planning between aged care providers,” Prof. Morrison said.

“So the number of seniors is going through the roof yet there is no planning happening.

“We ... started mapping out the different service providers and the relations between them and found funding is really convoluted and communication between them is sometimes ad hoc.

“I think we know there is a tidal wave of seniors but we haven’t put in place any measures to deal with it. My sense is we’re managing demand at the moment but it will just get tougher and tougher.”