Rural Access to Health and Care Services

Rural residents face distinct healthcare challenges, including limited access to transport, longer distances to medical facilities, an aging demographic, housing inadequacies, digital connectivity gaps, and recruitment hurdles for healthcare workers.

Hot Topics

22 Jan 2024

‘Taxi Tax’ Threatens Rural Healthcare Access

In a move that could disproportionately affect rural communities across the UK, the proposed 20% VAT hike on private hire and minicab journeys – colloquially termed the ‘Taxi Tax’ –...

Read more

16 Jan 2024

Debate on NHS Dentistry raises rural concerns

A debate in the House of Commons on 9th January raised concerns over the lack of NHS dentists available. It cited a Nuffield Trust report into the State of NHS...

Read more

16 Jan 2024

NHS targets missed

The BBC has last week reported on the key NHS targets that have never been met. Research by the BBC shows that ‘The analysis focused on the three key hospital...

Read more

08 Jan 2024

RSN Seminar Programme open!

It’s time to get organised for 2024 and make some time in your diary to attend one of our rural focused seminars. Almost 550 of you attended an RSN seminar...

Read more

08 Jan 2024

London gets well over ‘fair share’ of specialised NHS services while rural areas miss out

The Health Service Journal recently reported on NHS England figures.  HSJ findings suggest “people in some more rural areas are missing out on specialist treatments they should be getting, while...

Read more

08 Jan 2024

Solution for lack of pharmacies?

Two Universities are joining up to tackle the growing problem of a recruitment crisis in pharmacies in the South West. The BBC reports on how “the University of Bath is...

Read more

11 Dec 2023

Rural Homelessness raised in Parliament

In the last week, Sir John Hayes posed a written question to the Government asking: “To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what steps he...

Read more

20 Nov 2023

RSN joins celebrations as coalition wins Campaign of the Year award

RSN has joined partners in the ‘Rural Homelessness Counts’ Coalition to celebrate its win at the Affordable Housing Awards 2023. The campaign “Homelessness in the Countryside – A Hidden Crisis”...

Read more

13 Nov 2023

RSN Chief Exec: “Lack of government funding has created a rural ticking time bomb.”

The Rural Services Network Chief Executive, Kerry Booth, considers Professor Whitty’s new report which urges the government to address failings for older people in rural communities. Today the government’s Chief...

Read more