More than 800 vulnerable Australians are “in limbo” as the mental health care provider they rely on for support faces closure.

Momentum Mental Health offers coaching, group programs, bulk-billed psychological therapies and other support to hundreds of locals in Toowoomba and its surrounds.

With a waitlist of more than 200 people, Momentum’s services are in high demand.

But a recent redistribution of mental health funding has seen the establishment of a $3.6 million integrated mental health hub instead.

Darling Downs and West Moreton Primary Health Network (PHN) manages all aspects of primary health care in the region, including mental health, and tailor services to meet community needs.

Last year, the PHN announced plans for the new hub which would offer a range of mental health services, including clinical care and psychosocial support, in one location.

The hub would be run by one or more existing providers that would work individually or in partnership to provide these vital services.

Initially, the Momentum team were excited by the prospect.

”We love the idea of an integrated hub if it works with us to support people in our community,” chief executive Shirley-Anne Gardiner told 9news.com.au.

To create the hub, PHN is commissioning existing providers to deliver services through via an open market tender, meaning any existing providers could apply.

The providers that are chosen to deliver services through the hub will remain funded by the PHN.

Those that are not chosen and operate outside the hub “may need to seek alternative funding”, according to a PHN press release.

Under this new model, all of Momentum’s current PHN funding would be redirected to the hub.

“We would be left with a small amount of Queensland Health funding and $200,000 in fundraising a year,” Gardiner said.

“But we can’t financially survive. We would have to shut because we can’t fundraise $800,000 a year. It’s not sustainable.”

Momentum’s only avenue to receive ongoing PHN funding is if its application to deliver services through the hub is successful.

Successful applicants were supposed to be notified in June, but the number of applications forced PHN to push the date back to late July.

PHN told 9news it will not provide comment until the tender process is finalised.

Momentum and other existing providers are currently operating on short-term funding provided by the PHN to “support safe client transitions”.

That funding has already been extended once and will run out at the end of the year.

If Momentum has not secured ongoing funding either from the PHN as a hub provider or through alternative channel by then, Gardiner expects it will have to close its doors.

“It’s heartbreaking for us and we’re really worried about our clients,” she said.

“We have people who have suicidal ideation, we have people with chronic mental health conditions, we have people that suffer from social anxiety or agoraphobia.

“We have one woman who didn’t leave her house for 20 years before she came to Momentum.”

Being forced to change mental health care providers can be challenging for vulnerable Australians, especially those who have already built trust with a specific provider.

Gardiner fears that some clients will struggle with the transition to a new hub and some could fall through the cracks.

In the past, several clients have experienced mental health crises during the one week Momentum closes over Christmas.

Some have even had to go into acute mental health care because they cannot access the support they rely on.

Gardiner fears that if Momentum is forced to close, some clients who already experience life-threatening mental health concerns could suffer.

“If we’re not around [or] and we can’t work alongside them, we’re going to see people make some stupid choices because we’re not there to help them,” she said.

For now, Momentum’s staff and clients are living “in limbo” waiting for the PHN to announce the outcome of the hub tender.

If Momentum is not successful, staff will have to begin the process of looking for new jobs and clients will need to prepare to transition to new support services.

It’s a scary prospect and one Gardiner wishes she didn’t have to consider.

“There’s enough work for an integrated mental health hub and us. It shouldn’t be us or them.”