By Renee Wood
Healesville parents have been left devastated following the news their local Friday Playgroup is being suspended indefinitely.
The group meets at 6 Vimy Ridge, Healesville every Friday from 10am-12pm for the Eastern Health run playgroup to provide support for the parents and for development and social connections for the children.
Healesville resident Kristy Baglin said she’s being going to the group since 2017 and it has helped her make friends after moving to the area, while also providing health support for extra referrals.
“It was the one time a week I interacted with other adults, which was really nice and because it’s with Eastern Health you’re also able to get help with certain things,” she said.
“When I was pregnant with my second child, I was in a lot of pain in my back and Michelle [group coordinator] was able to give me a referral to go see a physio therapist.”
Meetings were cancelled due to the pandemic early last year however, now the group has been told it won’t be returning in the near future.
Playgroup members received a letter from the group coordinator, which has been seen by the Star Mail, stating that the decision has been made to indefinitely suspend the playgroup for the foreseeable future due to most of the parents moving on with kinder and primary school aged children.
It also states how safety restriction and Covid-safe management issues have become an issue due to the venue not being managed by Eastern Health.
“It’s really sad, it’s such a great resource for both parents and the children. It’s just crazy to throw that away and I don’t know what I’ll do to fill that gap.
“It was just it was like a little family and everyone was always welcome.”
Kimberley Seddon was also part of the playgroup family and said the decision to not reopen the group broke her heart.
“Not only for me and my son but for all parents in Healesville and surrounding suburbs, our family unit has been broken by the news,” Ms Seddon said.
Parent Sara Poynton started going to the group in 2011 and said she attended for ten years.
“When my youngest daughter was two, I was really struggling with her behaviours so Michelle referred me to an OT who helped with her behaviours and referred us to an agency. If we didn’t have Michelle we wouldn’t’ have got the help that we needed,” Ms Poynton said.
New mums also looking to join the group have been left with no where to go, including Healesville resident Lauren Meek who has a one year old.
“These kids and us mums have been through enough with this pandemic, now that we are so highly vaccinated, surely the playgroup can reopen for us all?” Ms Meek said.
Sue Lester a grandparent who attended the group with her grandchildren said it’s an essential service for mothers and children.
“Being a first time mum can be daunting, frustrating, confusing and exhausting – to be able to gather together once a week in a safe environment and speak openly to each other is important,” Ms Lester said.
Eastern Health spokesperson said the difficult decision to close the playgroup indefinitely was due to the uncertainty around the pandemic and changing restrictions.
“There were added difficulties running a group at an external site, such as department requirements around temperature testing and check-ins that contributed to the decision to suspend the group,” they said.
The spokesperson said Eastern Health is also continuing to accept paediatric and counselling referrals directly from families or from community services.
“ Most services continue to be run via telehealth, however we are able to facilitate face-to-face services on a case-by-case basis in line with our COVID-19 policies and to support vulnerable clients.”
Despite the message from Eastern Health, the playgroup details are still listen on the website as running during school terms.
It’s believed the Yarra junction playgroup which is also run by Eastern Health has been running after the lockdown.
