The recent story about allied health staff at McLean Care included the following:
“Mayor Dight said the council had inquired as to what happened to the property which was bequeathed to the people of Inverell, and had been told the land was transferred out of trust to the now defunct company.”
“On the 13th of June, 2012, McLean Care Foundation transferred all of its assets, being land and buildings, to McLean Care Limited,” Mayor Dight said.
Regardless of what the name of the entity is that owns the property, my question is “who owns that entity?”.
The fact remains that the land and a sum of money to build the original building, a convalescent home, was bequeathed to the people of Inverell by the late Hector Neil McLean. The business was originally operated by a trust then changed to a company limited by guarantee but the actual ownership must morally and hopefully legally, belong to the people of Inverell.
I believe the Inverell Shire Council should gain ownership and employ a suitable operator to run the business. Other councils in the area operate aged care facilities.
Mayor Kate Dight’s comment : “So that is what has gone on before our time. So for us now, being in 2026 we just have to deal with the status quo.”
I ask, what does that mean? What is the “status quo” ? The public, as I believe are the owners, need to know exactly what is happening at McLean Care.
I put the following questions :
1. Is the board still functioning ?
2. If not, who is monitoring/approving the actions of the acting CEO, Jill Davidson.
3. If the board is still functioning, who are the directors?
4. Is McLean Care accepting new residents ?
5. What is the current total number of beds at McLean Care Inverell and are any of the beds closed ?
The public of the Inverell district are being kept very much “in the quiet” about what is happening with “their” aged care facility.
Phil Girle is a past director and chairman of McLean Care.
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