THE biggest mental health services gap in the Hawkesbury is public transport according to Member for Macquarie Susan Templeman.
During a speech in Parliament on Monday afternoon, Ms Templeman said the closest mental health service providers for people in the Hawkesbury were in Penrith.
She said the public transport travel time to Penrith could be hours, and it was a key issue for upgrading services in the area.
Last week, Ms Templeman ran a mental health discussion, talking to people who accessed services and their carers.
She said plenty of issues were brought up, but the current transport situation to Penrith was a big one.
“At the top of the list was access to services, which tend to be based in Penrith,” she said.
“Penrith might only be 20 kilometres from Richmond, but it can be a two-to-threehour trip by public transport and it is a lot longer from places like Bowen Mountain, Bilpin and Colo Heights.”
