‘Dismantling decades of trust’: Melbourne health provider to close clinic

A prominent community health organisation will close the doors of its major clinic in St Kilda this week, forcing vulnerable clients to instead travel to Prahran or South Melbourne for help.

Better Health Network (BHN) formed in 2022 following the voluntary amalgamation of three smaller community health organisations. Today, it provides primary and allied care to those experiencing homelessness, socioeconomic disadvantage or complex health needs.

The St Kilda clinic at 22-28 Fitzroy Street offers alcohol and drug programs, counselling, and housing support services – as well as the Resourcing Health & Education program, which services the local street-based sex work community.

The Age has spoken to five former and current Better Health Network staff who criticised the St Kilda closure – set to take place on October 23 – and raised concerns regarding wider management decisions throughout the organisation.

Former BHN case manager Alana Lewis, who left the provider in May, called the closure “deeply concerning,” and said moving the services would erode trust within the St Kilda community.

“These relationships and connections don’t happen overnight. They take years to build, particularly with communities that still and have historically experienced stigma and discrimination when accessing services,” Lewis said.

“Closing Fitzroy Street isn’t simply relocating a service. It’s dismantling decades of trust, community connection and accessible support.”

Details of the closure of the site were communicated to staff in an internal announcement last month, which was authorised by chief operating officer Wayne Merritt and seen by The Age.

Among the reasons given were issues securing a suitable lease and structural building changes required by the landlord, described as being “outside [the] control” of the organisation. The current lease expires on October 30.

“To enable us to sustainably continue delivering services in suitable environments, we continue to review how we use our buildings and spaces,” the document explains, adding that clients will be redirected to nearby clinics in Prahran and South Melbourne.

Another former BHN staff member, who wished to remain anonymous to protect their reputation within the industry, said the closure meant the provider was effectively dislocating itself from the community it is supposed to be serving.

Although clients will be referred to other clinics, the former employee said the type of travel being put forward as a solution is unrealistic for many vulnerable or complex clients.

“That’s a middle-class view of mobility … a lot of people can’t travel in those sorts of ways. Even though people say it’s just a tram ride … it’s actually about being intimate within your own community,” they said.

“If you’re in community health, you can’t take community out.”

As well as the upcoming clinic closure, Lewis and other current and former BHN employees have expressed concern about transparency and accountability regarding staffing at the not-for-profit provider.

Last December, two BHN clinics in Clarinda and in Bentleigh permanently closed. Chief executive Andrea McLeod told The Age at the time there were no planned redundancies as part of last year’s changes, and staff would be redistributed to nearby clinics.

“We’ve committed to continuing to provide essential health and wellbeing services to our communities, but we need to deliver them more effectively to operate within the funding we receive,” McLeod said at the time.

But a current BHN employee, who wished to remain anonymous to protect their job, described a dynamic of “near-continuous” restructuring, including a high turnover of senior leadership and multiple redundancy rounds.

An internal document from January seen by this masthead details a lengthy “realignment” of client services leadership within the organisation. It refers to 23 program leaders being made redundant, 17 new leadership positions being created and a range of title and role description changes.

In response to questions from The Age, a spokesperson for BHN said the organisation was committed to providing client-facing services in St Kilda. They said they were in the final stages of negotiating a lease for a new clinic in the suburb, but declined to provide a specific timeframe as to when that could open.

In the interim, they said clients would be supported with the relocation to the Prahran and South Melbourne clinics, and to access services at partner organisations.

“We are committed to supporting continuity of care and giving clients choice about where they access services, based on their needs and preferences,” they said.

The not-for-profit will continue to lease its administrative office at the Victorian Pride Centre in St Kilda, as well as housing offices for senior leadership, but which is not permitted to provide client-facing services.

Another former BHN staff member, who also wished to remain anonymous to protect their reputation within the industry, said maintaining the organisation’s “dream factory” within the suburb’s centre was an example of the “corporatisation of community health”.

“There’s a real divide between leadership and corporate and the [operations] people … they’re just shooting for dollar outcomes, not client outcomes,” they said.

The BHN spokesperson said the Victorian Pride Centre site was “an important base for a range of frontline teams,” including those who coordinate support by phone.

“With a significant forecasted operating deficit for the 2025/26 financial year, the organisation must focus on achieving cost efficiencies that can support our need for financial sustainability,” the document explains.

The BHN employee said they had raised concerns to management regarding the impact of these major restructuring processes, but was met with a “tokenistic response”.

“Speaking up within BHN no longer feels possible. Those who have raised concerns have been minimised or driven out of the organisation,” the staff member said.

“BHN claims its values are accountability, purpose, courage and respect … [but] BHN’s actions are fundamentally at odds with the very values it claims to uphold.”

The BHN spokesperson said they recognise organisational change that impacts people’s employment is challenging.

“BHN has undergone organisational change to support the organisation’s long-term sustainability and continued delivery of accessible health and wellbeing services to the community,” they said.