Rally to save St Helen’s Private Hospital sees concerned Tasmanians speak out against closure
The Tasmanian government must step in and take over the mental health services at St Helen’s Private Hospital, which is set to close in late June, a rally in Hobart has heard.
Tasmania
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A woman suffering from acute mental health issues has delivered an emotional speech to a rally against the closure of St Helen’s Private Hospital, saying she is “scared for my life” as a result of the decision to shut the facility.
Concerned Tasmanians filled the forecourt of the Executive Building on Murray St on Tuesday for the Save Our (Health) Services rally, organised by the Health and Community Services Union, the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation and Unions Tasmania.
St Helen’s, a 39-bed mental health hospital, is set to close in late June, after operator, Healthscope, announced it could no longer run the facility due to falling demand and required capital works.
The state government has moved to establish a three-bed mother and baby unit at the Royal Hobart Hospital in a bid to lessen the impact of the St Helen’s closure.
Maddison Cutler, 26, of Hobart, is a patient of St Helen’s, and said Premier and Health Minister Jeremy Rockliff needed to step in and save the services that could be lost.
Ms Cutler, who has bipolar disorder and borderline personality disorder, said she had “no idea” what she was going to do when the hospital closed.
“I’m not exaggerating when I say that I’m completely and utterly terrified if my life will actually continue without these services,” she told the rally.
Addressing the government, Ms Cutler said: “Give me, the staff and the other patients of St Helen’s a glimmer of hope and save our mental health services.”
“Because if you don’t, there is no exaggeration in saying that you will have blood on your hands,” she said.
Astrid Tiefholz, a nurse and midwife who works as a clinical care navigator, said that without the peri-natal mental health care services offered at St Helen’s, Tasmanian parents and children would not receive the care they needed.
“The only negative thing I can say about St Helen’s’ … mother baby unit is there’s just not enough of it,” she said.
Ms Tiefholz said the state now had a “critical opportunity” to “make sure that we build a much better system of peri-natal mental health care for the families of Tasmania”.
“I think that’s worth fighting for,” she said.
Healthscope national manager mental health, Steven Bernardi, said the company knew the decision to close the hospital had “caused uncertainty”.
“We are doing everything we can for our patients and staff during this time,” he said.
Mr Bernardi said discussions were being had with other providers and the government regarding continuity of services, including transcranial magnetic stimulation and electroconvulsive therapy services, inpatient programs and general psychiatry.
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Originally published as Rally to save St Helen’s Private Hospital sees concerned Tasmanians speak out against closure
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