The University of Birmingham and Rose Regeneration have published a joint report into workforce challenges in the NHS and social care from a rural point of view.

It found the main challenges for staffing in rural areas were: disproportionate out-migration of young adults, older than average population and consequently a higher demand for health and social care services.

In addition the report noted that there were fewer NHS staff per head in rural areas and a lack of a rural-specific focus in workforce planning.

There were, however, several opportunities for the future of health care staffing: realising the attractiveness of the NHS as a large employer and using the varied nature of jobs in the NHS to employ a range of people with different backgrounds, for example those without a university degree.

The full report can be read here.  

Full article:

→ NCRHC - Rural Workforce Issues in Health and Care