Doctors and patients fear closure of their mental health clinic will leave community stranded

ABC NEWS (Australia)

Doctors and patients are concerned one of Geelong’s busiest mental health clinics will close, leaving vulnerable members of the community stranded and other clinics inundated. Healthscope, the company that operates the hospital, has been in receivership since May and a sales process is underway for its 37 hospitals. The federal government says there will be no bailout.

Transcript

00:00Maintaining a healthy lifestyle has been instrumental in helping Kate Morrissey manage her bipolar.

00:08But sometimes hospital stays are necessary.

00:11My stays at the clinic have 100% saved my life on multiple occasions.

00:16She's been on the books at the Geelong Clinic, a private mental health hospital, for 20 years.

00:22But there are fears the hospital could shut down if no one buys it from Operator Healthscope,

00:27which is currently in receivership.

00:30I need the Geelong Clinic to access these services.

00:33I shouldn't have to. They should be available to everyone.

00:36But as it stands at the moment, I need this private access.

00:41Her husband wants the hospital to stay open, partly because their two children are at a higher risk of developing bipolar.

00:48The public mental health system in Geelong is purely there for crisis care, as Kate was saying earlier.

00:54It's not equipped for dealing with the long term therapy.

00:58Staff at the hospital say the uncertainty is damaging.

01:01We've seen about one third of the admitting psychiatrists at the Geelong Clinic leave over the last couple of years.

01:07That's partly because in hospitals, psychiatrists are asked to work after hours with lower pay than in other settings.

01:15The remuneration for psychiatrists in these settings has been basically frozen for over a decade.

01:21Advocates say if the 73-bed clinic closed, Geelong's smaller public unit, the Swanston Centre, would be under severe pressure.

01:29Particularly in the last few weeks, the angst amongst the community has really increased.

01:34We see this as a critical infrastructure. It can't fall over.

01:37And for a place like Geelong, it is a really big part of the puzzle.

01:42But the federal government says there will be no bailout for HealthScope.

01:46HealthScope says the staff here continue to provide exceptional care for the community.

01:51And there's no intention at this stage of selling off any of its hospitals.

01:56In the last few weeks, the

02:09Have a great day.

02:10Have a great day.

02:12I will die.

02:13Bye.

02:14Bye.

02:15Bye.

02:16Bye.

02:18Bye.

02:20Bye.

02:21Bye.

02:22Bye.

02:24Bye.

02:25Bye.

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