cohealth’s announcement in late October that they had to close their GP and counselling services by the end of the year caused panic, alarm and concern for many in the community. cohealth’s centres in Collingwood, Fitzroy and Kensington are a literal lifeline for some of our most vulnerable citizens, their closure will cause immense suffering.
But the community has come together to show how much these centres mean to Melbourne residents. Thousands of people have either attended rallies, written letters and emails, signed petitions and made calls to Ministers. It has been heartening to see how quickly people can mobilise to protect such an important service.
We brought the community’s fight into parliament. Soon after the announcement from cohealth, the Greens passed a motion in the Victorian Parliament urgently calling for emergency funding to keep cohealth running until a deal can be made for secure, long-term funding. Victorian Senator, Steph Hodgins-May, also presented your petition to the Federal Parliament.
Emergency funding success!
We’re very pleased that the Federal Labor Government have agreed to fund an emergency package to keep GP services open until July 2026. This is a huge relief to so many of the cohealth patients and staff, to know that there is some (temporary) relief. But this is not enough.
What needs to happen?
The Federal Labor Government needs to come up with a long-term, sustainable funding model for community health. These services, which deal with people with complex needs, can’t work on the Medicare assumption of 6 minute appointments. The GPs and counsellors need to have time and funding to treat people properly and holistically, with sensitivity and care.
In addition, the Victoria Labor Government needs to fund the counselling services and repairs to cohealth’s Collingwood building, which is crumbling – leaks in the roof, cracks in the walls. It is not fit for purpose.
Pressure is working!
We know both the Federal and Victorian Labor Governments have been hearing from many of you and are under pressure to make these crucial funding changes. Community health is an asset to all of us, which we can’t afford to lose. We won’t give up until cohealth and other community health providers are given the resources they need.
