The Psychs on Bikes 2013 nine-day tour began in Sydney yesterday with stop-offs planned in many communities of the Western NSW Local Health District (LHD). 

The brainchild of Sydney psychiatrist Dr Joe Dunn, it champions “proactive and preventative initiatives” for treating mental illness in rural and remote communities.

A lunch-time stop scheduled at the Dubbo Community Mental Health and Drug and Alcohol Centre in Bultje Street today will follow breakfast at the Bloomfield Hospital in Orange.

This afternoon the riders will be welcomed at Narromine’s Rotary Park before having dinner with GPs in the evening.

Western NSW LHD mental health nurse educator Richard Whitton said each year the tour took in rural and remote areas for public and professional meetings.

“Last year we crossed Australia, this year we are visiting part of the eastern inland and will be guests at the Ulysses AGM at Maryborough,” he said.

“All of us have a passion for riding motorcycles and trying to reduce the rates of rural suicide, particularly amongst men.” 

The Western NSW LHD’s general manager for Dubbo and Region Mental Health Drug and Alcohol Services, Tuana Sanders, is pleased to see the tour head inland.

“This is a great opportunity to showcase the innovative and modern facilities we have in regional areas,” she said.

“Spreading the word about access to services in these areas is crucial, and we’re more than happy to have the Psychs on Bikes helping to talk to the communities they’re visiting.”

Tomorrow morning the Psychs on Bikes will have breakfast in Trangie where in 2012 Dr Dunn told of suicide among men in the country being almost double of that in the city.

He said there was a continuing need for open discussion on depression and suicide.

A meeting between the Psychs on Bikes and representatives of the Rural Adversity Mental Health Program is to be held this weekend.

The program aims to reduce the stigma associated with mental illness across communities of the Western NSW LHD.