For more than 30 years, parents in the inner-Perth suburb of Bayswater have taken their children to council-run immunisation clinics to get them vaccinated for free.
Now those clinics have been shut down.
The sudden closure of the City of Bayswater clinics comes as an increasing number of general practitioners move away from bulk billing and as Western Australia's health system struggles.
It came as a surprise to mother-of-two Kate Bowker, who said she would now face higher costs and longer waiting times to get her children vaccinated.
"[Our] GP appointments are free for under two but if they're over two then they're not bulk billed, so there is a gap payment," Ms Bowker said.
"Luckily we can [afford it] but I am quite conscious that there are many people in my community who can't, especially with all the other pressures on the cost of living at the moment."
In WA, waiting times to see a GP have doubled over the past four years.
Ms Bowker says it is hard for busy parents to make appointments and stick to them.
"What I was finding was the week I had planned to get my child vaccinated, maybe they had a snotty nose or were just getting over a cold so we couldn't take them," she said.
"That was really easy for the drop-in vaccination clinics because you just don't go [but] with the GP, you have to call up, cancel the appointment, book the next one.
"There are a few GPs in the area but it is quite difficult to get into them … I think it's about a four-week wait."
Community 'disgusted' and 'disappointed'
The immunisation clinics shut in July after funding was scrapped in the council's most recent budget.
As parents scrambled to find other options, several councillors came out in support of reopening the clinics, including Dan Bull.
"[There is] no plan for transition, it blindsides the community and it results in job losses without fair warning or discussion," he told council.
Resident Yvette Coyne gathered more than 200 signatures on a petition calling for the immunisation clinics to reopen.
"A lot of the parents are saying that they're quite disgusted that council would make that decision without community engagement," she said.
"It's just disappointing."
The City of Bayswater is also set to wind back funding for the school-based immunisation program at the end of the year, which Ms Coyne said was concerning for busy families.
"That's kind of in my mind now, that that service is not going to be available for my children in high school," she said.
"A lot of parents and families are really busy, there's a good chance that those vaccinations will be missed."
The WA Health Department is considering the council's request to pay for the school immunisation program next year.
'The right decision'
The City of Bayswater, including Mayor Filomena Piffaretti, is standing firm on its decision.
Ms Piffaretti told council it needed to focus on delivering 'core' services.
"I wish we were in a better financial position and were able to fund any and every project or service we might like, but we aren't and we can't," she said.
"I'm not dismissing the importance of immunisation but this decision on balance and in context is the right decision."
Ms Piffaretti said people in Bayswater had other options, including 40 state government immunisation clinics and bulk-billing GPs.
Only the cities of Joondalup, Cockburn and Belmont have council-run immunisation clinics.
