Tasmania’s only large-scale private mental health clinic will be closing down its main site, after years of bleeding cash.<\/p>\n
In a statement, the Hobart Clinic said its inpatient site in Rokeby, a hospital with 27 beds, would shut down by the end of October.<\/p>\n
The clinic has been providing mental health services for Tasmanians with private health insurance for 40 years, but has recently been plagued by financial issues.<\/p>\n
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The Hobart Clinic is Tasmania’s only large-scale private mental health clinic. (Facebook: The Hobart Clinic)<\/p>\n
Dr Stephen Ayre, the organisation’s acting CEO, said the decision to close the service was made after projections indicated it was facing a deficit of $3 million this financial year.<\/p>\n
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Dr Ayre cited financial woes as partly to blame for the clinic’s closure. (Supplied: Queensland Government)<\/p>\n
“This had occurred as a result of low private health fund reimbursement and the inability for private patients to pay the increasing gap fees,” Dr Ayre said.<\/p>\n
He said the majority of the clinic’s patients are admitted on a short-term basis and the organisation would work to ensure “minimal impact” for patients.<\/p>\n
About 100 people currently work at the facility and they will all be paid any entitlements they are owed, the acting CEO said.<\/p>\n
Closure will be ‘catastrophic’<\/p>\n
Josie Mackey was a frequent patient at the Hobart Clinic between 2017 and 2020, before she was transitioned into the public system.<\/p>\n
She said the treatments she received at the site were very beneficial, and the dialectical behaviour therapy (DBT) program she took part in was “life-changing”.<\/p>\n
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Ms Mackey said the care she recieved at the Hobart Clinic was “lifechanging”. (Supplied: Josie Mackey)<\/p>\n
“I’m still friends with a lot of people who use their services and [the closure] is going to be life-altering for people,” Ms Mackey said.If you or anyone you know needs help:Suicide Call Back Service<\/a> on 1300 659 467Lifeline<\/a> on 13 11 14Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander crisis support line 13YARN<\/a>\u00a0on 13 92 76Kids Helpline<\/a> on 1800 551 800Beyond Blue<\/a> on 1300 224 636Headspace<\/a> on 1800 650 890ReachOut<\/a> at au.reachout.com<\/a>MensLine Australia<\/a> on 1300 789 978QLife 1800 184 527<\/a><\/p>\n She said having just one major private clinic was already not enough for the level of demand, with many people having to travel to the mainland for specific treatments.<\/p>\n “Now the closure of the Hobart Clinic is going to be absolutely catastrophic for people because the public system can’t handle the amount of mental health patients,” she said.<\/p>\n “A lot of people are going to be left with no option except to go to another state.” Ms Mackey was an inpatient at the Hobart Clinic between 2017 and 2020. (Supplied: Josie Mackey)<\/p>\n Minister ‘confident’ patients will get treatment<\/p>\n The Tasmanian government helped keep the clinic afloat in recent years, providing more than $3 million in assistance and contracting beds at the hospital for public patients.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n