The Ramsay Clinic in Thirroul is described as a “magical place” by some patients – but it will close its doors in March. Photo: Ramsay Health Care.
CONTENT WARNING: This story discusses mental health and suicide.
Australia’s first women-only, stand-alone, trauma-informed mental health facility will close its doors in March.
The Ramsay Clinic Thirroul opened in 2023 to a warm reception from the Illawarra community.
The clinic offers in-patient support for women who have experienced significant trauma or suffer from mood disorders – often both.
This week patients were told it will shut up shop for good.
One patient, Amanda*, said there were tears from staff as well as patients when they heard the news.
“I was in therapy when the nurses came in and said there is an all-patient meeting in 10 minutes,” she said.
“We went into a meeting with the CEO and one of the psychiatrists.
“There were two nurses in the room, and some of the staff had not been told yet, so they were working while we were being told the clinic would close in six weeks.
“Staff were visibly upset; some patients were hysterical, they were so emotionally distraught.
“Many of them have complex care plans and have come from other facilities that can’t help them, or have regular stays booked in as part of their care plan.”
Amanda said patients were told the closure was due to the clinic’s inability to recruit psychiatrists.
The clinic is owned by international private health care provider Ramsay Global, which also owns Wollongong Private Hospital.
A Ramsay Health Care spokesperson said the clinic closure was to improve accessibility.
“A trauma-informed mental health service for women will relocate from Ramsay Clinic Thirroul to Ramsay Clinic sites in Sydney in the coming weeks,” the spokesperson said.
“The change is aimed at improving patient access, with almost half of patients currently living in the Sydney area, compared with about a quarter in the Illawarra.
“Relocating the service will improve access for the majority of patients while supporting the ongoing delivery of specialised care in the context of sector-wide psychiatry workforce challenges.”
Amanda, who lives in the Illawarra, said without the Ramsay Clinic in Thirroul she wouldn’t be here.
Despite extensive childhood trauma and adult experiences of domestic violence and parenting a child with a disability, Amanda didn’t feel safe accessing in-patient care through the NSW public system, where she would be expected to share a facility with men.
A successful career woman, she was also concerned that spending time in some of the “horrible” acute mental health units on offer in NSW would put her in a worse mental place.
After battling suicidal ideation alongside physical health challenges, a friend encouraged her to look at the Ramsay Clinic, and she booked herself in last year.
“I was not in a great way,” Amanda said.
“Then, for the first time in my life I felt safe.
“I know this is a sentiment shared by other patients. It’s a magical place.
“All staff are trauma-informed and everyone is treated like a human being; it’s not clinical or punitive.
“The rooms are amazing, the staff is so warm and welcoming, and we learn skills and coping mechanisms to live with the effects of trauma like dissasociation and anxiety.
“At any other clinic I would walk out straight away, but here I felt so nurtured and cared for, I didn’t want to leave.”
Thanks to the support she received, Amanda was able to better manage her mental health, and after her return to the community, get her physical health challenges under control.
That was when she decided to book in for a second stay, with the hope that she would be better able to learn new coping skills now she’s improved her physical and mental health.
The Ramsay Health Care spokesperson said the clinic’s current patients would be transitioned to care through other services.
They were unable to say what would be done with the property.
“For Illawarra patients, Ramsay will offer a weekly outpatient psychiatry service at Figtree Private Hospital, along with transport and accommodation assistance for those travelling to one of the Ramsay Clinics in Sydney,” the spokesperson said.
“As part of this transition, Ramsay Clinic Thirroul will close once services have safely relocated by mid-March.”
Amanda said she was skeptical that other care models would be able to effectively support women who had experienced complex trauma or sexual or domestic violence.
She said it was distressing to learn the support offered by the Ramsay Clinic Thirroul would no longer be available to women like her.
“Women who have experienced domestic violence don’t want to be anywhere near men when processing this trauma,” she said.
“It feels like a purely financial decision by Ramsay Global.”
* Name changed.
If this story has raised any issues for you, you can call Lifeline’s 24-hour crisis support line on 13 11 14.
