The on-campus medical practice at the University of Wollongong is closing after five years, the owners citing an inability to negotiate a lease with the university and inadequate facilities as the reason.
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Campus Clinic will shut its doors on July 30, with two doctors and most of the staff to move to a new clinic, Seacliff Healthcare, at Thirroul.
Another physician will move to Shellharbour City General Practice, while the fourth will no longer work in general practice as she pursues specialist training.
In an email to patients, lead physician Dr Jennifer Bowler said the clinic had petitioned two UOW vice-chancellors and the chief administration officer for better facilities, but were met with "lack of support or interest".
"Recently we were offered the space beside the clinic to expand into, but were asked to pay the whole cost of the development ourselves, which is impossible given the financial constraints of running a bulk billing student health service," Dr Bowler said in the email.
"Finally, we have given up and have set up a new practice elsewhere."
The clinic has 12,500 active patients.
Dr Bowler and her husband Dr Cartan Costello came on-board to operate the on-campus practice as construction of the facility was to begin.
Dr Costello said they advised the university at that time that the 2.5-room facility was inadequate, and in response UOW made a commitment to expand in the future.
However, as Dr Costello wrote in an email to new Vice-Chancellor Professor Patricia Davidson, they had sought that expansion for the past five years.
"We are distraught with the closure of our clinic to which we have devoted five years of our lives," he told the Mercury.
A UOW spokesperson said the university offered its gratitude to the clinic's practitioners for their "thoughtful and compassionate service".
"UOW Pulse continues to work closely with all our campus tenants and have offered a significant level of support, especially over the last 18 months throughout the pandemic," the spokesperson said.
"Unfortunately, however, the Campus Clinic has taken the difficult decision to close."
The closure of the clinic will leave the university with no on-campus general practice, but the UOW spokesperson said UOW Pulse and the university were working on providing a new service.
A former UOW student and clinic patient said the news of the "fantastic" practice's closure was a "kick in the guts" for those who had used the service.
He said the closure would have a disproportionate impact on international students and those from the LGBTIQ community in particular, given the inclusive, compassionate space the clinic had created.
He said the provision of mental and reproductive health services to students on-campus was another important aspect of Campus Clinic.
It was vital, he said, to link students in quickly with adequate, trusted health services - and being able to access these services had never been more vital than during the pandemic.
The former patient said losing a clinic on campus would add another hurdle for students in accessing healthcare, especially those who might not have the means to travel.
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Natalie Croxon
Reporter at the Illawarra Mercury, mostly covering social affairs. Previously of the Bendigo Advertiser, Northern Daily Leader and Quirindi Advocate. Our Watch award winner.
Reporter at the Illawarra Mercury, mostly covering social affairs. Previously of the Bendigo Advertiser, Northern Daily Leader and Quirindi Advocate. Our Watch award winner.
