A prominent St Albans vaccination service offering free walk-in jabs for children is set to close due to funding cuts, after the state government said the provider didn’t use the allowance for its intended purpose.
Western Health, which oversees operations at the Joan Kirner Women’s and Children’s Hospital’s vaccination centre, was allocated funding for a specialist service to deliver vaccinations to children with complex needs while they were sedated.
The state government said Western Health was using its allocations to immunise the wider community more generally.
Vaccinations for the general public are funded by the federal government and administered by GPs, local councils and community pharmacies.
Additional grants are given to paediatric hospitals to deliver specialist vaccination services.
In a Facebook post, Brimbank mother Isabel Fernandes said the ability to walk in without needing to book in advance has been a lifesaver, especially when dealing with the unpredictability of babies’ needs and schedules.
“This [walk-in] service is being fully utilised …nurses recently told me they’re having to turn patients away due to overwhelming demand,” she said.
Ms Fernandes is concerned by the clinic’s imminent closure, which she was told would happen in October.
“Losing this service would be a major setback for families in our community. Rather than cutting the service entirely, funding should be increased to meet the growing needs of the community,” she said.
She created an online petition, which has now gained over 850 signatures, calling for the funding to be reinstated to prevent the closure of the clinic.
A state government spokesperson said, “As Western Health has been unable to deliver specialist immunisation services, the Royal Children’s Hospital and Monash Health has expanded their services to meet demand”.
Western Health acting chief operating officer Christine Neumann said, “Patients and consumers can also access vaccination services at a range of other local health services, including GPs, some pharmacies and local councils”.
The Department of Health and Western Health both said they will continue to work together to re-introduce the specialist immunisation services.
