Cohealth is being urged not to give counselling and pharmacy the chop on the 19th December and instead wait to see what the review says.
Cohealth is being urged to wait for the independent review into its general practice service to be completed before cutting counselling and pharmacy services to some of the most vulnerable community members.
The terms of reference for the jointly commissioned independent review of its model were released late last week.
The scope will include understanding the factors that have contributed to the financial degradation of general practices, including understanding their financial management, governance, use of multidisciplinary teams and any opportunities or revenue streams that could be more appropriate.
Health economist Professor Stephen Duckett will chair, with general practice clinician and researcher Professor John Furler and community health leader and chartered accountant Ms Jane Seeber also on the panel.
The panel will be supported by McGrathNicol for technical and financial assurance matters. Findings will be delivered by 28 February 2026.
In November, the Commonwealth committed $1.5 million via the North Western Melbourne PHN to keep GP services running until 31 July 2026.
However, that funding does not cover counselling or pharmacy, both of which remain slated for closure on 19 December.
It’s understood a number of counsellors have already been made redundant, and the Cohealth pharmacy in Collingwood is also expected to shut its doors.
According to psychiatrist Dr Brian Stagoll, a member of the community group that has been pushing for the review, this is the wrong time to be dumping such crucial services.
“Cohealth must act responsibly to ensure that vulnerable people who need counselling and pharmacy services are not dumped a week before Christmas,” he said.
“We know the consequences for people needing counselling when they are cut off from this critical service. And Christmas is a time of great stress for many people.”
Victorian mental health peak body Tandem agreed.
“Our concern is driven by carers and members who have told us that the closure of these services will impact those already experiencing the most disadvantage,” said a Tandem spokesperson.
“Family, carers and supporters have noted the value of these services go beyond what they offer consumers, highlighting that they also provide real life support and relief to carers. These services offer families and communities stable, accessible care that serves as a lifeline, and can also support a carer to develop and practice their own coping strategies when things are hard.”
Cohealth is being urged to pause the closure of counselling services until after the review.
“The review of Cohealth is welcomed by the community and we applaud the federal and state governments for initiating it,” said Dr Stagoll.
“A caring and responsible organisation would show restraint and await the 28 February report rather than guillotine staff prematurely on 19 December, in 12 days’ time.
“In this season one might expect a gesture of goodwill from management. Corporate rhetoric about a caring transition is hollow for the vulnerable.”
Tandem is calling on the state government for:
- An immediate pause on the planned closure of counselling services at Cohealth.
- Meaningful consultation with service users (including carers, families, and supporters) as well as staff and lived experience representatives before any decisions on the future of these services are implemented.
- The retention of community-based counselling as a fundamental preventative health and wellbeing infrastructure across all affected service delivery areas.
When The Medical Republic reached out to the Victorian health minister Mary-Anne Thomas for a comment, we were told: “You’ll need to reach out to the federal government on this one”.
Why has the state government been so silent on this issue when they’re part of the jointly commissioned independent review? It’s yet another question we can add to our increasing list.
“Given the review will report in February, just two months from now, the right and just thing to do would be to pause any closures or cuts to services until the findings of the review are known. This would reflect sound governance practice,” Dr Stagoll said.
A community rally is being planned to protest these closures. It will take place at 12pm on Saturday 13 December 2025 at Cohealth Collingwood, 365 Hoddle St, Collingwood.
