The Victorian Greens are calling on the Victorian Labor Government to rescue three local community health centres from closure with an emergency funding package, calling the decision by governments not to properly fund community health 'nonsensical' and 'incredibly short-sighted'.
Earlier this month, cohealth announced it would end its GP and counselling services in Collingwood, Fitzroy and Kensington in December, and close its Collingwood clinic permanently in 2026 - with lack of state government infrastructure funding and inadequate Medicare funding not sufficient to cover the complex healthcare cases they deal with.
This leaves over 12,000 people stranded without adequate healthcare and will likely push these people into our already over-run hospital system.
This is despite years of warnings and pleas for funding from the community health sector and the Greens.
cohealth provides free and affordable wrap-around health services for over 12,500 people in the community, including disadvantaged and vulnerable people who would otherwise not have access to affordable health services: elderly people, people in public housing, people from migrant and refugee backgrounds and people with complex health and social needs.
While operational funding for primary and community health funding is a shared responsibility between federal and state governments, health infrastructure is largely a state government responsibility and cohealth has been requesting support from the Victorian Labor Government since 2019 to rebuild their crumbling Collingwood health centre.
Community health care centres get only 0.3% of the state's health infrastructure budget - even though they're proven to keep people out of hospital and even though they deal with some of the most complex health matters. Without adequate GPs and primary healthcare, over 12,000 people could end up being pushed into our already-overrun hospitals.
Infrastructure Victoria has recommended that the state government increase community health funding from 0.3% to 3% of the state's health infrastructure budget, acknowledging the important role it plays in early-intervention healthcare and keeping people out of hospital.
The Greens will be calling on Labor in the Parliament to commit to a funding package - which includes $4 million dollars to save cohealth's GP and counselling services and at least $25 million dollars to upgrade and retain the Collingwood health centre - by the end of November.
Over 400 people attended community meetings about this issue in Kensington and Richmond on Friday and Saturday, showing the depth of support for saving local community health centres.
As stated by Leader of the Victorian Greens, Ellen Sandell MP:
"For decades, our local community health centres have provided healthcare for some of the most vulnerable people in our community.Now over 12,000 people will lose access to a doctor because of chronic underfunding from State and Federal Labor Governments.
"This will push more people into our already over-run hospitals - which is more expensive for the State Government overall. It makes no sense. The State and Federal Labor Governments must step in to save these community healthcare centres.
"Since Whitlam set up community health services, state and federal governments have slowly chipped away at and given less and less funding to community health. When governments start to starve community health of funding over such a long period of time, services are cut, and people suffer.
"The Greens are asking Labor for an emergency rescue package to save cohealth, so they can sit down and negotiate a longer-term proper funding model that actually funds the free, long-term health care people need."
As stated by Victorian Greens Member for Richmond, Gabrielle de Vietri MP:
"cohealth Collingwood has been supporting our community for years, but its closure will have a devastating impact - especially on the people who need it most. For years Labor has known the Collingwood building is leaking and falling apart, and they've refused to fix it.
"Let's be absolutely clear that the responsibility for funding community health lies squarely with the state and federal Labor governments. If the Victorian Government refuses to step in, this will be a terrible turning point for Melbourne and Labor will bear the great shame of increased poverty, ill-health, homelessness and hospital overloading.
"Infrastructure Victoria, the Greens and the community have all said the same thing: fund and repair community health before it collapses.
"Funding for health should never be put in the too-hard basket - but that's exactly what Labor's done. And it's local communities like ours that pay the price."
