With just days left before the state’s only private mental health facility in the south shuts its doors, “potential transitional arrangements” that could save The Hobart Clinic from closure are being explored.
Health Minister Bridget Archer confirmed negotiations were under way after the clinic’s board reversed its earlier decision and signalled a willingness to keep operating.
The 27-bed Rokeby facility is due to close on Friday, with only four patients remaining and staff already being stood down.
“Following their correspondence, I can confirm work is underway on potential transitional arrangements,” Archer said on Monday.
The development follows a roundtable meeting last Thursday, where stakeholders – including the clinic’s operators and unions – discussed a possible six-month reprieve for the facility.
Clinicians have put forward a proposal seeking $2 million in government funding to keep the clinic running while a long-term solution is worked out.
Archer cautioned that due diligence would be needed given the complexity of the situation.
“… The government has no role to play in the governance operations of a private organisation, nor would it be appropriate for the government to influence any such arrangements,” Archer said.
The clinic had previously maintained it would close regardless of public funding, citing a projected $3 million deficit this financial year.
Its closure would leave the public health system as the only option for clinical mental health care in the south, following the 2023 closure of St Helens Private Hospital and its 31 mental health beds.
Archer said discussions were also taking place with “other private providers” about stepping into the market to fill the gap left by the clinic’s potential closure.
“… I have also raised this issue directly with the federal minister for health and continue to urge the federal government to step up and fix the issues in the private market,” Archer said.
“We continue to boost capacity in the public system and are progressing plans for more mental health hubs, including in the Huon Valley and the new mental health precincts in the north and north-west.”
