January 30th 2025

By Ailsa Colquhoun

Urban centrism challenged in Scottish Parliament

Urban centric health policies have been criticised in the Scottish Government.

MSP Rhoda Grant (Highlands and Islands) (Lab) slammed the Government by saying: “It continues to design and deliver services with urban areas in mind.” Looking specifically at medical training, she said: “It is difficult to attract staff to rural areas because the training does not equip trainees with the skills that they need for rural practice. People in rural practice need different skills, such as self-reliance and a breadth of knowledge.  

Superspecialism leads to centralisation. Patients need to travel, which comes at a huge personal and financial cost.”

Responding, Scotland’s Minister for Social Care, Mental Wellbeing and Sport Maree Todd said: “We are absolutely committed to ensuring that … rural citizens of Scotland can access high-quality health and social care.”

A publication on Trends in Rural Scotland found that in 2023-24, over nine in ten (91%) people find it easy to contact their GP in remote rural areas, falling to eight in ten in accessible rural areas. Although these figures are significantly higher than the average for Scotland (76%), they represent a decrease from 95 per cent and 90 per cent respectively since 2017-18.  Also significantly higher than the average for Scotland is the quality of care experience in rural Scotland:  81 per cent of people in remote rural areas and 71 per cent in accessible rural areas. This is significantly higher than the average for Scotland (69%).  

The data also shows population growth in rural areas:  accessible rural areas up 19 per cent on 2001 and remote rural areas by +4 per cent.