Health Education England have launched plans for a new programme which will look to help tackle health inequalities in rural and coastal areas.
These areas in particular commonly have an ageing population, often with worsening health and social deprivation.
Due to geographical location, low staffing levels can be an issue, meaning the ability to care can suffer in some remote healthcare facilities.
Chief Medical Officer, Chris Whitty warned that if not addressed, “there will be a long tail of preventable ill health which will get worse as current populations age”.
A three-year parliamentary inquiry found a clear divide between urban and rural residents accessing healthcare, something which was highlighted in last year’s Annual Report.
HEE are to launch the new pilot across selected Integrated Care Systems (ICSs) that are struggling to attract and retain a workforce.
The plan will focus on innovation rural healthcare apprenticeship schemes,widening participation and access to medical schools in order to encourage applicants from rural communities, and health literacy programmes to increase digital health literacy within the public.
Patrick Mitchell, Director of Innovation, Transformation and Digital at HEE, said: “We know that rural and coastal communities are facing serious health challenges. Services are having to meet the needs of populations with worsening health and range of significant physical and mental health conditions, while also trying to address staffing shortages in key disciplines.
“Addressing longstanding inequalities requires a new vision for professional practice in rural and coastal areas which is locally distributed, community embedded and where education and learning leads to greater collaboration with other partners in health, care, local authorities, and communities.
“HEE’s regional teams will work in collaboration with the ICS pilot areas, supported by HEE’s national teams as appropriate, to establish a targeted and sustained programme of education and training intervention.
“The programme would be designed on a mix of existing proven interventions but be anchored around some key initiatives that internationally have been proven to be effective in sustaining a local community’s recruitment and retention of health professionals.”
HEE will also aim to use global research to develop solutions and secure the workforce, with a focus on training for rural practice at postgraduate level and positive undergraduate clinical experiences.
