Rural GP blindspots need to be addressed with change to funding approach

Rural life is under threat and unless there is a sea change in attitude towards the communities that make the countryside what it is, this whole way of life will disappear.

Villages have been turned into seasonal ghost towns with second home buyers snapping up properties and pricing locals out. Services have shuttered, leaving those that want to remain rooted in the countryside facing longer journey times for the most basic of things, from shopping to appointments with the GP.

That is why the warning from Dr Jonathan Pain, a senior partner at the Central Dales Practice in Wensleydale, that rural general practice is “a bit forgotten” needs to be heeded. Dr Pain says more financial support is needed for surgeries in the countryside.

Asking rural GPs to adopt the same practice as their urban counterparts won’t do. As Dr Pain highlights, there isn’t much public transport, access can be difficult when the weather is bad and asking GPs to conduct online appointments when the infrastructure is not there shows how misguided such an attitude is.

The Central Dales Practice recently began operating a branch surgery from the site of the former Reeth Medical Centre, which closed at the end of May with the retirement of the doctor who ran the facility with his wife. The anxiety caused by the closure of Reeth Medical Centre is a reminder of the consequences of neglecting rural health needs.

Health leaders need to start plotting a robust roadmap for care in rural communities and the Government needs to start providing additional funds to ensure there are no healthcare blindspots.