The closure of two Ramsay Psychology services in Perth will exacerbate the existing long wait times for psychological services in the state, according to AMA (WA) President Kyle Hoath.
Dr Hoath told Medical Forum the closures announced by Ramsay on Thursday would place more pressure on an already strained public mental health system.
Ramsay Health Care confirmed to Medical Forum the upcoming closure of its Mount Pleasant and West Perth services.
“We are transitioning Ramsay Psychology to a more flexible and sustainable model, which includes the progressive closure of 17 clinics by the end of August,” the statement said.
Three existing clinics across the country will remain, including Joondalup, to support local needs, maintain key partnerships and pilot more integrated models of care, the company said.
“We understand this change might be unsettling and we are working closely with our psychologists to ensure every client is supported and has continuity of care, whether through our existing and expanded telehealth service or with another trusted provider, depending on what is clinically appropriate.”
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Inpatient mental health services at Ramsay Clinic Hollywood will remain operational. But Dr Hoath warned it will be affected by higher patient demand amid the closures.
“It will be affected in as much as the whole mental health sector is going to be affected by losing more qualified psychology services – that’s a big impact for us,” he said.
“Ultimately, it will mean longer wait times. We are already short on capacity and people already wait quite a long time to see a psychologist, we know that it’s pretty much impossible to get into psychologists in the public sector due to the lack of resources there and the overall demand.
“This is just going to make people wait longer and that’s when things go wrong, it’s certainly not good news.
“Who knows how many people will need to find new psychologists, losing that kind of support is going to put those people in a position of risk or deterioration.”
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Dr Hoath said he would be working to understand the decision made by Ramsay, what it will mean in practical terms and whether there are any measures that could be taken to provide support where it was needed.
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