Old Opal Aged Care beds to find a good home overseas

On Monday morning, the Rotary Club of Bathurst Daybreak cleaned out the old facility in Kelso, collecting beds, mattresses, lifters, side tables, chairs and sterilising equipment.

New tenant Housing Plus will have no use for the beds, so chief executive officer David Fisher is glad to see them go to good use.

"We've repurposed furniture in the past from other facilities to the local Wattle Tree House and to refuge centres in Orange," he said.

"We've connected with the Rotary Club of Bathurst Daybreak for these beds to go to East Timor, so it'll be good to see them go to good use instead of going into landfill."

Rotary club president Erik Mol said he's happy to see the beds go to places in need.

"We'll ship them out from Bathurst to a factory in Minchinbury, before they are shipped out to hospitals overseas," he said.

"These beds are only a few years old. They're in good condition and functioning, so it's better they're going to use then going into landfill.

"We've collected about 60 beds, as well as side tables and lifters, chairs, sterilising equipment, mattresses. We'll get them somewhere where they're needed."

Opal Aged Care in Kelso was replaced by a new centre on Stanley Street, which opened its doors in May, 2019.

The Boyd Street-based facility was purchased by the Catholic Diocese of Bathurst late last year, with the Bishop of Bathurst, the Most Reverend Michael McKenna, telling the Western Advocate in December that the decision to purchase the building was made after witnessing the success of similar projects within the local Bathurst community.

"There is an obvious need in the community for emergency accommodation and services to ensure the most vulnerable members of our community can have a meal provided, temporary accommodation when needed, and access to social services," he said.

"The wonderful success of the Uniting Safe Shelter project, providing men in the Bathurst area with a bed and a meal through the winter months, demonstrated the need for emergency accommodation in the area."