Tolosa Street Adult Mental Health Service set to be privatised, staff stop work in protest
A key mental health service managed by the state government is set to be taken over by a not-for-profit organisation, angering staff who fear the change will result in worse outcomes for patients.
Tasmania
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A move to privatise a state-run mental health facility in Hobart’s Northern Suburbs has provoked fury among the workforce, leading staff to stop work in an act of protest against the Rockliff government’s plan.
Services at the 12-bed Tolosa Street Adult Mental Health Service, which is currently managed by the Department of Health, are set to be transferred to a new facility run by not-for-profit mental health care provider Richmond Futures.
Staff were informed of the proposal on April 17 and were told that the Tolosa St facility, which opened in 2000, was in need of “extensive capital works”.
The memo said a new 26-bed purpose-built facility on Bellette Place at Chigwell had been “handed over” to Richmond Futures by Homes Tasmania in February and that 16 of the beds would be “operationalised” by “transitioning the existing functions of Tolosa St to this new facility”.
The Health and Community Services Union (HACSU) has claimed this would result in a net loss of two beds, a reduction in acute care provisions, and could potentially put jobs at risk.
HACSU state secretary Robbie Moore said Tolosa St workers were going to “fight it all the way”, which was why staff opted to stop work for an hour at midday on Wednesday.
“This will really put lives at risk because ultimately we’ve got a shortage of mental health beds already and to take more capacity out of the system is just ridiculous. It makes no sense to privatise vital services,” he said.
“We should be adding additional beds and services, not taking them away.”
Mental Health and Wellbeing Minister Roger Jaensch rejected Mr Moore’s suggestion that the proposal would result in “job losses or gaps in service provision”.
“It is well known that a hospital setting is not always the best place for people recovering from mental ill health, and being supported to stay in a community environment through dignified and compassionate care leads to much better outcomes for people when they return to their homes,” he said.
“The union’s scare campaign doesn’t achieve any better outcomes for Tasmanians in need.”
The proposal to transfer the Tolosa St services to Chigwell will be consulted on until May 23.
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