Independent Member for Clark, Andrew Wilkie, joined Laura Cini, who is a Hobart local and has been a patient at The Hobart Clinic for five years, to discuss the imminent closure of the Clinic.
“For some 40 years The Hobart Clinic has been providing first-rate private mental health services to Tasmanians. Its closure next month will see the State lose 27 in-patient beds.
“Many patients fortunate enough to have private health insurance, and the money to travel, will face the disruption of now going to the mainland for treatment. While those now relying on the public health system will have to join the queue somewhere or simply go without treatment.
“The closure of The Hobart Clinic reflects the parlous state of mental health care in Australia. It’s chronically under-funded and specialist staff shortages are commonplace, first and foremost because of decades of policy failure by governments at both national and state level.
“But this is as much a human story, as it is one about health policy, and to help us understand it we should listen to people like Laura. The Hobart Clinic turned her life around and its closure presents new hurdles.
“It’s simply not good enough for the Tasmanian Government’s response to be that the Clinic’s caseload can be absorbed by the public health system. That’s patently unbelievable. What it should instead be doing is negotiating with the owners of the Clinic and searching for some way to keep it open. And it must immediately commit to a substantial funding boost for public mental health services. Anything less would be a complete disregard for the public interest.”