July 24th 2024

By Ailsa Colquhoun

Health minister hears of rural health postcode lottery

The rural health postcode lottery has been raised in Parliament with the new health ministerial  team.

In a debate on Health Services: Rural Areas Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP) asked: “Why should those in rural communities be second-class citizens in their own country? Access to GPs, physiotherapists, nutritionists and mental health services for farming and other rural  communities must be at least on a par with those in cities and large towns.”2

During the debate, Jamie Stone (Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross) (LD) described  the loss of GP vaccination services as a huge concern to crofters. “They must travel a staggering 70 miles or more to the nearest A&E, where they will face further waits owing to backlogs resulting from heavy workloads.”

He said that a one-size-fits-all approach does not work in remote rural areas and he added that for GPs and other healthcare professionals poor wages and terms and conditions, and a lack of proper travel reimbursement, all lead to a general impression that the game is simply not worth the candle. 

Health minister Karin Smyth said: “We recognise the additional cost of providing services in rural areas.”