Families upset at the decision to close the Mercy Parklands rest home and hospital in Auckland are looking at legal action to try to keep it open.
The facility is owned by a trust of the Sisters of Mercy, which announced the closure last month, saying a shortage of nurses meant it could not run at full capacity. The facility had lost $400,000 over several months.
Families were given three months to relocate their elderly relatives before the closure.
Now, one family has sought legal advice over how to extend that period of grace.
In a legal letter viewed by 1News, the family points to the Mercy Parklands constitution, saying "the activities of the company are to be carried out exclusively for charitable purposes, not for profit."
The letter called for an extension of up to nine months for residents to relocate.
In a second letter a week later, the family says it may resort to legal action, which could include "applying to the High Court for an interim injunction restraining the unconscionable closure on such short notice."
Another family told 1News it would not move their elderly father from Mercy Parklands. A spokesperson said they had medical advice that because their father was in fragile health it would be a risk to move him.
Carol Hatch has her 93-year-old mother Nellie at Mercy Parklands. She said trying to find a new home for her mother had been horrendous, particularly with Christmas and New Year not far away. "I've been running around like a headless chook," she said. "Ringing this one, ringing that. They're all full."
Asked if she would prefer her mother to stay at Mercy Parklands, she said "Absolutely, 100%."
Physiotherapist Fiona Tanis said staff struggled to understand the decision to close.
"Because we are a not-for-profit organisation, and we work with mercy values," she said. "Everything we do is around our values and mission, which is mercy in our heads, our hearts and our hands.
"If anything could be done, it would be a miracle."
1News approached the Board of Mercy Parklands over the possibility of legal action from families.
In a statement, Board chair Arthur Morris said it had replied "giving them reassurance that we will continue to care for residents who have not been relocated by the end of the notice period. We understand family concerns about the wellbeing and future care of all residents. No resident will have to move until alternative accommodation has been arranged."
Morris added that so far spaces had been found for half the residents.
1News also approached the Catholic Church to ask whether it could step in with financial assistance for Mercy Parklands.
A spokesperson said the facility was the responsibility of the Sisters of Mercy, an independent order and the matter was for them to comment on.
1News separately approached the Sisters of Mercy to ask that same question.
In a statement, congregation leader Sr Sue France did not address that specific point, but did say the Sisters of Mercy had provided support to Mercy Parklands for many years.
"We have worked closely with the board... as they have considered its future and looked at every possible solution. The decision to close was a very difficult one and distressing for everyone involved."
The family which raised the prospect of legal action against the Mercy Parklands board said it was now considering its options, in light of the board declining to extend the period given for families to relocate.
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