THE run down of mental health services in the region was again brought into sharp focus this week when doctors at Shoalhaven hospital broke their normal silence to complain about the long wait for facilities and staff.

Their concerns add weight to the argument that the NSW Government has sat on its hands when it comes to implementing its own health strategies, which identified the need for an inpatient facility in the Shoalhaven some years ago.

To date, nothing has been done to implement that strategy, apart from what we are told is some planning. This government seems to do a lot of planning with very little follow-through, as this situation illustrates.

As the years roll on, the plan just doesn’t materialise. What does come from the government is words, words, words.

When doctors themselves go public and say the system needs fixing, one knows things are indeed dire. This is not just Opposition politicians taking pot shots any more – it is the health professionals who are pleading for action.

The question is when will the Government actually pay attention? Will it take a tragedy on a big scale for it to realise that the lack of mental health services is more than an inconvenience in this part of the world?

It needs to put plans into action now and give this region the services it so desperately needs.