Chamber and committees

Healthcare in remote and rural areas

Background

The Health, Social Care and Sport Committee is undertaking an inquiry into remote and rural healthcare in Scotland.

Data form National Records of Scotland indicates that most people in Scotland live in large urban areas and accessible small towns.

As at mid-2021, the data also showed:

• 12% of the population (660,901 people) lived in accessible rural areas
• 1.6% of the population (299,115 people) lived in remote and rural areas

Unique challenges

People in remote and rural areas face unique challenges when it comes to accessing health and social care. As such, the Scottish Government has made a number of policy commitments to meet the health and social care needs of people living in remote and rural areas.

Key issues consultation

Over summer 2023, the committee asked stakeholders and members of the public about the key issues and challenges they face with accessing healthcare in remote and rural areas.

The responses to our consultation can be found on the Parliament website:

Healthcare in Remote & Rural Areas (parliament.scot)

Your views

Have your say on rural healthcare policies

The Committee would now like to hear views on what policies and actions would be most effective in addressing the issues people face when accessing healthcare in remote and rural areas.

The Scottish Government has committed to developing a Remote and Rural Workforce Strategy by the end of 2024.

The government say this will provide a framework to support employers and also ensure the health and social care needs are met of people who live in remote and rural communities.

The government has also committed to establishing a National Centre for Remote and Rural Health and Social Care to improve primary and community services. This is expected to launch in October 2023.

Who does the Committee want to hear from?

The committee wants to hear from anyone who uses healthcare services or works in the health and social care sector or has views on remote and rural healthcare.

Your views

There are five questions in the committee’s call for views:

1. Are there any immediate issues unique to remote and rural communities which the National Centre will need to focus on to improve primary and community care in these areas?
   
   
2. Are there any issues which the National Centre will be unable to address, which may require further policy action from the Government?
   
   
3. What would you like to see included in the Scottish Government’s forthcoming Remote and Rural Workforce Strategy?
   
   
4. What specific workforce related issues should the strategy look to resolve?
   
   
5. Are there any workforce-related issues which the creation of a Remote and Rural Workforce Strategy alone will not address. If so, what are these issues and what additional action may be required to address them?

The call for views closed on 20 October 2023.

Read the responses

Read the summary of responses (2MB, pdf) posted 07 December 2023

Timetable

The Committee will begin taking oral evidence in late 2023/early 2024.