Thursday 17 September 2026 | 10:00am–12:00pm | Online
How can we ensure people living in rural communities have fair access to the health, care and wellbeing support they need?
Join the Rural Services Network for a dedicated National Rural Conference session exploring the realities of delivering accessible health and care services across rural and coastal areas.
Taking place online on Thursday 17 September, the session will bring together expertise from public health, adult social care, health technology, research and the cultural sector. Through expert presentations and an open panel discussion, attendees will hear about the inequalities facing rural communities, emerging research and practical, preventative approaches to improving health and wellbeing.
What Will The Session Explore?
Distance, limited transport, workforce shortages and the centralisation of services can all make accessing health and care more difficult in rural communities. These pressures can be compounded by older populations, digital exclusion and funding or service models that do not always reflect the additional costs of rural delivery.
However, rural places also possess strong communities, local knowledge and valuable assets that can support prevention, connection and wellbeing.
The session will explore:
- The realities of improving public health across a large and diverse rural county
- Rural and coastal inequalities in health and adult social care
- Early findings from research into the challenges facing adult social care
- The potential for digital health technology to support prevention and access
- The relationship between research, policy and frontline practice
- How arts and cultural activity can strengthen wellbeing, connection and local economies
- The partnerships and place-based approaches needed to improve rural health outcomes
The presentations will be followed by an open panel discussion and audience Q&A, providing an opportunity to put questions directly to the speakers and contribute to the wider conversation.
Meet The Speakers
Gill O’Neill, Executive Director of Public Health and Communities, Northumberland County Council
Gill O’Neill is Northumberland County Council’s statutory Director of Public Health. She leads system-wide work to improve population health, reduce avoidable inequalities and strengthen communities across Northumberland through preventative and asset-based approaches.
Gill began her career in the voluntary sector before progressing through senior leadership roles within the NHS. A qualified Consultant in Public Health, she has particular expertise in partnership working, strategic leadership and delivering large-scale system change.
At a regional level, Gill is the North East Directors of Public Health lead for the public health workforce and the Faculty of Public Health Board Member for the North East.
Presentation: Rural Realities: Northumberland Director of Public Health Report
Professor Sheena Asthana, Director of the Centre for Health Technology and Co-Director of the Centre for Coastal Communities, University of Plymouth
Professor Sheena Asthana’s research explores health inequalities and the role of digital health technologies in supporting a shift towards prevention. Her work has a particular focus on addressing the divide in health outcomes experienced by coastal communities.
Sheena has contributed to more than £40 million of funded research projects and has an extensive record of senior-level governance and advisory work. This has included roles with the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, the Royal Society for Public Health, the Advisory Committee on Resource Allocation and the Commission for Rural Communities.
Sheena will share early findings from research exploring the challenges facing adult social care in rural and coastal communities.
Dr Michael Clark, Associate Professorial Research Fellow, London School of Economics and Political Science
Dr Michael Clark has extensive experience of undertaking and managing research at local, regional and national levels. His research interests include mental health, dementia, social care, public involvement in research, and arts and care.
He has a particular interest in the connections between research, policy and practice and the challenges involved in translating evidence into implementation.
Until recently, Michael was Research Programme Manager for the NIHR School for Social Care Research. He is an Associate Professorial Research Fellow within the Care Policy and Evaluation Centre at LSE and Managing Editor of the Journal of Long-Term Care.
Presenting alongside Professor Sheena Asthana. Further details will be announced soon.
Abigail Reeve, Director, National Rural Touring Forum
Abigail Reeve is Director of the National Rural Touring Forum (NRTF), an Arts Council England Investment Principles Support Organisation focused on developing and amplifying the rural and small-scale arts touring sector.
The NRTF supports rural and small-scale programming partners across the UK, as well as artists and community promoters.
Abigail is a senior arts leader who has previously held roles with Birmingham Royal Ballet, Rambert Grades, Arts Council England and Stopgap Dance Company, where she remains a trustee.
Dr Vishalakshi Roy, Associate Professor in Creative Industries, University of Warwick
Dr Vishalakshi Roy is an Associate Professor at the University of Warwick and Director of the cultural consultancy Earthen Lamp.
Her research focuses on entrepreneurship and the strategic planning and management of creative and cultural organisations. She sits on the Cultural Leadership Board of the West Midlands Combined Authority and is a board member of the rural touring organisation Live & Local.
Joint presentation from Abigail Reeve and Dr Vishalakshi Roy: Culture, Wellbeing and Economics: A Rural Touring Story
Who Should Attend?
This session will be particularly valuable for:
- Local-authority public health, adult social care and community-services teams
- Directors of Public Health and elected members with responsibility for health and wellbeing
- NHS organisations, Integrated Care Boards and health and care partnerships
- Voluntary, community and social-enterprise organisations
- Health, social care and public-policy researchers
- Organisations working in digital health, prevention or health inequalities
- Arts, culture and community organisations supporting rural wellbeing
- Anyone working to improve access to health and care in rural communities
This is not an exhaustive list. We welcome colleagues from across RSN member organisations who have an interest in rural health, adult social care, prevention, wellbeing or reducing health inequalities.
This session is exclusively available to RSN members. Attendance is included at no additional cost with eligible membership packages, while a small fee applies to Rural Village Services Group and Rural Market Town Group members.
Please note that the session will not be recorded. To hear directly from our speakers, take part in the Q&A and contribute to the discussion, you will need to join us live.
Thursday 17 September 2026
10:00am – 12:00pm
Online
With thanks to our conference supporters
The Rural Services Network would like to thank our National Rural Conference 2026 supporters for helping us deliver this important programme of discussion, learning and shared rural experience.
