A health clinic for the homeless in Sydney is set to close due to a funding shortfall after more than 40 years in operation.

• Haymarket Clinic has lost annual federal funding of $900k
• Clinic assists homeless people with medical services, showers and mail collection
• Clients say clinic's closure will be "devastating"

The Haymarket Clinic in Darlinghurst is staffed by doctors, nurses, welfare workers and a psychologist, and provides services such as vaccinations, the prescribing of antibiotics, health education and referrals to drug and alcohol services.

About 20 homeless and other disadvantaged people seek medical treatment at the clinic daily, with a further 60 accessing other services such as showers and mail collection.

The clinic, which is part of the Haymarket Foundation, lost its annual federal funding of $900,000 as part of cuts announced in the 2014-15 Mid-Year Economic and Fiscal Outlook (MYEFO) and despite a one-off transitional payment of $990,000 from the Commonwealth, has been unable to secure an alternative funding source.

The clinic was started in 1974, offering services out of a caravan in Haymarket, and grew into a small medical centre run from a terraced house in Palmer Street, Darlinghurst.

Dr Gavin Frost was a founding member of the Haymarket Clinic, and said it provided "a pair of clean socks, something to eat, a shower, see the doctor, see the nurse, have your wound dressed, see the psychologist, get referred for surgery if that's appropriate".

read more: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-03-19/haymarket-health-clinic-for-sydney-homeless-set-to-close-funding/7259860

A medical clinic for Sydney's homeless facing closure within weeks has become the focus of an attack on the Federal Government's funding of health services, with Sydney MP Tanya Plibersek rallying behind it.

The Haymarket Clinic is due to run out of money on April 30 after its grant funding from the Commonwealth was cut as part of the 2014-15 Mid-Year Economic and Fiscal Outlook.

The service, run by the Haymarket Foundation and located in Palmer Street, Darlinghurst, was given about $900,000 each year, with a one-year extension granted after it was announced Commonwealth support would be withdrawn.

When the funding cut was made, the Haymarket Clinic lay within Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull's electorate of Wentworth.

However, following a redistribution of electoral boundaries, the clinic recently found itself in the neighbouring electorate of Sydney, held by the Deputy Opposition Leader, Tanya Plibersek.

Ms Plibersek earlier spoke with staff and clients of the medical service, which helps hundreds of homeless and disadvantaged people each week.

read more: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-03-26/tanya-plibersek-rallies-behind-sydney-homeless-clinic/7277786