The Tasmanian health minister said the clinic’s board had accepted the terms of the $2m package, and took a swipe at the feds to boot.
The board of The Hobart Clinic, Tasmania’s last remaining private mental health hospital, has accepted a $2 million cash injection from the state government to stay open for the next six months.
On 14 October state health minister Bridget Archer said the government was prepared to provide the one-off payment subject to the Clinic’s board agreeing to demonstrate financial sustainability after six months.
Today, Ms Archer said, the board had agreed to the conditions and had signed the funding deed for the transitional funding.
She also took the opportunity to take a swipe at the federal government.
“I am pleased The Hobart Clinic has accepted this funding, which provides stability for patients and staff over the next six months while the Clinic undertakes the necessary work to strengthen its business model,” said Ms Archer.
“We acted swiftly to keep The Hobart Clinic’s doors open within days of receiving a proposal, and this means the Tasmanian government has now invested nearly $9 million into the Clinic since 2021.
“By comparison, the Federal government has contributed $0.
Related
“With the Clinic’s immediate future now locked in thanks to our investment, we call on the federal assistant minister for health, Rebecca White, to work with the Clinic on ways to ensure its long-term viability moving forward.
“Our government will continue discussions with other private providers to strengthen options available to Tasmanians, as we also progress our plans to future-proof the public system.”
Late last month the Clinic’s CEO Stephen Ayre announced the 27-bed facility’s closure due to “receipt of the financial projections for the year ahead and the challenging funding environment”.
HSD attempted to contact Mr Ayre for comment today, but the phone at The Hobart Clinic rang out and there was no further update on the Clinic’s website beyond the initial closure announcement.