Rural leaders highlight rural health and care challenges

Higher demand for health and care services in rural areas suggests a greater need for tailored health policies, the Rural Services Network has said following the launch of a new report.

The rural services lobby group identifies a stark contrast in the proportion of GP-registered patients over 75 years old in rural versus urban settings: 11.5 per cent in rural areas compared to 7.5 per cent in urban regions.

As well as higher demand for services, the RSN highlights the unique barriers to delivering rural health and care services: limited access to transport, long distances to medical facilities, and an aging demographic.

The Rural Services Network's own statistics show that 59 per cent of hard-to-recruit GP specialty training places are in rural regions, highlighting the difficulties in attracting healthcare professionals to serve these communities.

In its new report, 2 million older people now have some unmet need for social care Age UK makes the following recommendations:

Improve access to care
Recruit and retain healthcare professionals: develop targeted rural recruitment strategies
Integrate services
Public awareness campaigns: Raise awareness about the available services for older adults and how to access them, particularly in rural areas.

Rurality