‘Devastating’: 73 mental health beds could be lost as clinic’s future in doubt
The Geelong Clinic faces closure as parent company Healthscope enters receivership with $1.6bn debt, threatening 73 psychiatric beds in regional Victoria.
The future of the Geelong Clinic – a specialist mental health facility that’s been described as “invaluable” – hangs in the balance as its parent company Healthscope remains in receivership, putting 73 of the region’s psychiatric beds at risk.
Healthscope, which operates the St Albans Park facility, fell into receivership in May 2025 with $1.6bn debt and is searching for a buyer.
The company’s private hospitals, including The Geelong Clinic, have remained open while this process takes place.
A Healthscope spokesperson said discussions around a sale were currently under way.
“The outcome of the sales process is not yet known, however, there is no intention at this stage to close any sites including the Geelong Clinic,” she said.
Dr Angelo Virgona, President-elect of the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists (RANZCP), said any potential closure would be “devastating for regional Victoria”.
In an open letter to Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles, Dr Virgona and other health leaders called for the federal government to intervene to secure the clinic’s future.
“On the eve of Christmas, The Geelong Clinic - the only private psychiatric hospital in the
Geelong region - is at risk of closure,” the letter stated.
“This is not a business failure; it is a lifeline being cut from veterans, mothers with postnatal depression, people with serious mental illness and everyday residents in a mental health crisis. “The closure will mean the loss of 60 per cent of acute mental health
beds across public and private hospitals in Geelong.”
Leopold woman Lauren McManus who was treated for an eating disorder at the clinic between 2009 and 2012 said staff there saved her life.
“People will die if it closes,” she said.
Ms McManus was an inpatient for two 40 days stints – where she lived with a group of people, attended programs and said she was supported by nurses 24 hours a day.
“I 100 per cent think that if I didn’t have the clinic, I wouldn’t be here,’ she said.
“My mum has told me that, too.”
Ms McManus said she was “scared and worried” when she heard of the uncertainty surrounding the clinic’s future.
“Once I started working in the medical field and aged care, (I realised) how prevalent these diseases are in society,” she said.
“I think if there is nowhere to go, where are these people going to be in five or 10 years’ time.”
The Geelong Clinic cares for several thousand patients annually through combined inpatient and outpatient services and day programs.
In 2021 the facility underwent $16m renovations, adding a new wing and 27 beds.
At the time, clinic leaders said there was rising demand for addiction and eating disorder treatment, as well as anxiety, depression and trauma.
In the letter, Dr Virgona and his colleagues wrote: “The Geelong Clinic cannot be allowed to close or left in lingering jeopardy. Your direct advocacy will help.”
Kensington Hill Medical Centre director and GP Elise Davey said the Geelong Clinic was an “invaluable service” that provided treatment to those in Geelong and the wider region.
“We do not have an alternative to this hospital, which provides life-saving treatment to the patients it cares for,” she said.
The potential closure comes amid a national crisis as nearly 300 private psychiatric beds have been lost since mid-2023 due to six hospital closures and ward shutdowns.
Psychiatrists in private hospitals are required to have constant availability and the workforce is ageing without being replaced due to staffing shortages.
Originally published as ‘Devastating’: 73 mental health beds could be lost as clinic’s future in doubt
