Sudden closure of Harden's St Lawrence Residential Aged Care leaves community devastated

St Lawrence Aged Care management says the facility will not be closed until each resident has found a place.(Supplied: Southern Cross Care)

The move to close an aged care facility in southern New South Wales has shocked families and left them scrambling to find another place for their loved ones.

The St Lawrence Residential Aged Care at Harden-Murrumburrah will close in the coming months, leaving 35 residents to find new accommodation.

The home's owner, Southern Cross Care (SCC) NSW and ACT, said a low demand for beds had forced its decision.

Lyn Douglass, whose mother Norma Butler has lived in the home for four years, said the news was unexpected.

She said the home had been a "lovely place" for her mother, and while SCC had offered to try and place her mother in their facilities in the nearby towns of Cootamundra or Young, it would not be suitable.

"In my case, none of those are terribly feasible. My mother is in a very poor state of health, and it includes dementia as well," she said.

In a statement, SCC said demand for beds had been below the industry average over the past three years, with 10 beds currently vacant at the centre.

But Ms Douglass said her experience differed.

"There has always, in the past, been waiting lists … I had to wait nine months to get my mother in," she said.

Lyn Douglass, (centre back), says St Lawrence has been a lovely place for her mother, Norma Butler, (front right).(Supplied: Lyn Douglass)

Surprise decision leaves residents 'terrified'

Hilltops councillor Rita O'Connor said the decision was "devastating" and had come "out of the blue".

"I'd just like Southern Cross Care to stop and think about their decision.

"I'd like them to consider all the people who work there, all the cleaners, all the ancillary staff, the people who come from towns to deliver goods.

"Because it affects a lot more people than the 35 residents they're saying they're committed to relocating."

The Member for Cootamundra, Nationals MP Steph Cooke, said the home was "beautiful".

"We have a shortage of aged care beds in rural and regional NSW," she said.

"More often than not, our aged care facilities are at full capacity, all of the time, and there are some of them that have a waiting list.

SCC confirmed St Lawrence would not close until each resident had found alternative accommodation.

A mental health nurse would remain onsite for the "foreseeable future", it said.