After many decades of service as hospitals two Sydney mental health facilities have shut for the final time today. The closure of Wesley Mission's only in-patient mental health hospitals has come as a shock to patients, who have had just six weeks to find new care.
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00:00 One last gathering at a place that's changed hundreds of lives.
00:06 To be able to attend the meetings here, it had a major impact into my staying sober.
00:14 Wesley Mission Ashfield has been emptied out after 70 years treating addiction.
00:19 Former patients turned out for an evening vigil.
00:22 It was very clear to me that the community is concerned with the loss of this hospital.
00:28 At Coggra, doctors have had to move to other facilities after being given just six weeks' notice of the closure.
00:35 Wesley Mission says the hospitals were running at a loss.
00:38 It's planning to sell the empty buildings, promising to use the revenue for other good deeds.
00:44 What we're calling for is for Wesley Mission to make a kind and compassionate decision about what to do with this site.
00:53 The closures mean a loss of almost 70 beds to the state's mental health system.
00:58 We'll also have a look at services provided by Sydney Local Health District and that part of Sydney to make sure that we can fill any gaps required.
01:07 The biggest worry for hundreds of Wesley Mission patients has been where to go next.
01:12 Many outpatients have told the ABC they've managed to follow their treating doctor elsewhere.
01:18 But those 70 private inpatient beds won't be easily replaced.
01:23 If a private provider or a not-for-profit goes out of business and it's happened quickly, it does mean that we scramble to provide alternative services.
01:32 This land in Ashfield was gifted to the charity for health care. Its future remains uncertain.
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