Sexual health clinics in Davoren Park and Noarlunga to close due to State Budget cuts
Sexual health clinics in Adelaide’s north and south — areas with high teen pregnancy rates — will close in next year as their parent organisation, SHINE SA, grapples with severe budget cuts.
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A not-for-profit sexual health and education organisation has been forced to close clinics in two of Adelaide’s most disadvantaged areas because of funding cuts stemming from the State Budget.
SHINE SA, which offers clinical services and treatment along with education and counselling, will shut clinics in Davoren Park and Noarlunga as well as their HIV counselling service.
The closures will take place in February 2019.
Teenage pregnancy rates in the Playford Council area — centred around Davoren Park — are more than three times higher than the national average.
An Australian Institute of Health and Welfare report this year found teen mums were much more common in poorer suburbs.
SHINE SA chief executive Natasha Miliotis said in a letter to service partners and colleagues that the sexual health sector had been hit hard by the Budget cuts.
“The announcement of the State Budget on 4 September 2018 included an average reduction in government funding of 2 per cent to non-government organisations in SA,” Ms Miliotis said.
“Despite this average the sexual health sector has been one of the hardest impacted sectors with a range of 5 per cent to 9.5 per cent funding reduction applied, with one service, Cheltenham Place, completely defunded.
“SHINE SA was the hardest hit of all remaining services, losing $547,000 per year.
“In addition to this significant decrease in funding, SHINE SA is required by government to prioritise and expand our education and workforce development programs.
“Like many other organisations in the health sector, we have faced consistent cuts since 2012 to the SA Health component of funding.”
SHINE SA clinics on Hyde St in the Adelaide CBD and in Woodville will remain open and the organisation will continue to provide services to the Adelaide Remand Centre, Yatala Labor Prison and the Adelaide’s Women Prison.
Their HIV counselling program, which is part of the South Australia Mobilisation and Empowerment for Sexual Health (SAMESH) program, will also be cut as of February.
“While we have taken many weeks to give full consideration to our options, and taken advice from experts, peers and staff, as a direct result of the $547,000 per year funding decrease, we now unfortunately find ourselves forced to close two SHINE SA clinics plus the HIV counselling service component of the SAMESH service,” Ms Miliotis said.
“We fully appreciate that this significant loss of service will create difficulties for our partners, colleagues and collaborators ... it is with sadness that we find ourselves in the situation of having to close these services and sincerely apologise for any inconvenience.”