Defence veteran Kate* has battled mental illness for more than a decade, at one point even attempting to take her own life.
“I sort of hit rock bottom two and a half years ago again. I asked for help this time, which was good, and I’ve been getting help ever since with Ramsay,” she said.
“My psychologist gets me like no one else does.”
Kate was making significant progress before she received news from her therapist that her local Ramsay Psychology clinic would close at the end of August.
“I was surprised, disgusted, appalled,”
she said.
Kate’s psychologist told her Ramsay Health wanted to transition patients to telehealth appointments.
“It feels like [Ramsay Health] didn’t want [our psychologists] to tell us so that when we did find out, we would have no choice but to stay with them doing telehealth … instead of allowing our psychologist to work with us to sort something else out beforehand,” she said.
Staff say they were left ‘completely in the dark’
Last week, the ABC revealed Ramsay Health Care would close 17 of its 20 psychology clinics within weeks, citing concerns like rising costs and uneven demand.
Ramsay Health Care plan to close 17 psychology clinics around the country. (ABC News: Billy Cooper)
A briefing note sent to staff said Ramsay Health Care was “exploring the merits” of expanding its existing psychology telehealth services.
The ABC has spoken to multiple psychologists employed at Ramsay Psychology clinics who did not want to be identified because they are not authorised to speak publicly.
They said staff were “left completely in the dark” about the decision to close the clinics, describing the company’s communication to staff as “appalling” and “shambolic”.
They also claim there were “zero warning signs” the clinics they worked at were about to close and that they were initially instructed not to communicate the planned closures to some of their patients and were given little time to plan.
“It’s heartbreaking to see our clients left out there in the community with no support,” one psychologist told the ABC.
“We have clients who have been attending our clinics for years and a lot of them have come out of sessions crying, because the psychologist told them that they will no longer be seen by them.
“We will have to find a space to see these vulnerable clients and sometimes they are just not easy to find.”
Psychologists said they were told their contracts would be ending, but they might be able to pick up telehealth sessions, however it was unclear what that model would look like.
‘More people falling through the cracks’
Ramsay Health Care is Australia’s largest private hospital operator, and its psychology clinics treat a range of high-risk patients with various mental health conditions, including young children, for conditions like depression or PTSD.
The provider also runs a separate network of mental health clinics, however they will not be affected by the change.
Dr Sara Quinn is president of the Australian Psychological Society. (Supplied)
The President of the Australian Psychological Society, Dr Sara Quinn, said the closure of Ramsay Health’s psychology clinics across multiple states would have a big impact on its patients.
“When a local psychological service closes, it doesn’t just remove that place for these people to go, it removes that trusted pathway into care for those who are most vulnerable,” she said.
“A closure forces people to start again with a new clinician if they’re able to find one. And that can, for some people, involve retelling incredibly traumatic and difficult histories, navigating systems that they’ve never navigated before.
“It can then lead to people falling through the cracks.”
Dr Quinn said clients with the most acute needs would be disproportionately affected.
“The clinics that have been closed are closely connected to hospital mental health systems,” she said.
“People on psychiatry wait lists or those recently discharged from hospital are going to then lose critical follow-up care at the very moment they’re potentially most at risk.
Ramsay Health Care staff say they are uncertain about their futures amid clinic closures. (ABC News: Billy Cooper)
“So instead of stabilising there, they’re left in limbo and we know that many will deteriorate or even end up back in emergency or relapse to the point of needing another hospital admission,” she said.
Dr Quinn said the clinic closures have also sent shock waves through the profession.
“Without urgent reform, closures like this are going to become more common and even more Australians will miss out on the mental health care they need and deserve.”
Ramsay working on ‘safe transition’
One week after Kate learned her local clinic was closing, she received an email from Ramsay Psychology confirming it would shut its doors at the end of August and offer clients telehealth sessions instead.
Ramsay Health Care is Australia’s largest private hospital operator, and its psychology clinics treat a range of high-risk patients. (ABC News: Billy Cooper)
Kate will be able to continue seeing her psychologist in person at another clinic but she said if that was not the case, she would have been “scrambling to find another one” because “there’s no way I would have continued with Ramsay.”
In a statement, Ramsay Health Care said it, “has been working closely with psychologists and other stakeholders to ensure a safe and considered transition for clients impacted”.
The provider also said it had asked “psychologists to communicate directly with their clients and support them to continue care — either through our expanded telehealth services or with another trusted provider” and that “clients are being informed as part of this process”.
*Name has been changed to protect identity.
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