Mental health workers at the Tolosa Street Adult Mental Health Service will walk off the job for one hour at 12:00pm today in a show of defiance against the state government's move to reduce public mental health services and privatise the facility.
The Tolosa Street Adult Mental Health Service is one of six public mental health facilities in the state and specifically helps vulnerable Tasmanians build independent living skills and focus on long-term recovery.
“The Tolosa Street facility saves lives but Jeremy Rockliff wants to hand over this vital mental health service to private operators whose priority isn’t care, it’s profit,” HACSU State Secretary Robbie Moore said.
“The Liberal government has shown repeatedly that it doesn’t value public health infrastructure, and there are plenty of examples where the privatisation of essential public services consistently leads to reduced quality of care, higher costs, and diminished accountability.
Tasmanians simply cannot afford to stand by while public health services are cut or handed over to private interests,” he added.
Workers are calling for the immediate cancellation of the sell-off of the Tolosa Street Adult Mental Health Service and for the state government to commit to maintaining and expanding public investment in mental health care.