Well, yes and no....

10 million of us live in areas that are considered “rural” – which can be defined as a small village, an open countryside, a coastal community, former mining areas or commuter villages on the edge of towns and cities.

Living in the rural idyll that it is all peace and quiet, can draw envious assumptions and observations that suggest affluence and good health but it is not without its challenges. A 2017 Local Government Association report titled ‘Health and wellbeing in rural areas’ suggests that the high-level statistics that lend support to these assumptions mask the pockets of deprivation and poor health outcomes that exist in most rural communities.

The same report highlights that rural areas have on average 23.5% of their population is over the age of 65 compared with 16.3% in urban areas. Those over 85 are also overrepresented in rural areas. The report highlights other social and economic factors that have a disproportionate impact on people’s health which include:

•  Poverty – 15% of households in rural areas live in relative poverty after housing costs are taken into account
• Housing – house prices tend to be higher in rural areas and more households experience deeper fuel poverty
• Employment – household incomes in rural areas can be lower due to part-time or seasonal working
• Access to transport – rural residents travel longer distances and spend more of their disposable income on transport

Further health risks relate to challenges such as: reductions in resources to care for the older population, issues of access to health and care services, the demands of traveling around rural areas and in some sparser and more rural areas, the lack of community support, all contribute to pressures on local government and the NHS to respond imaginatively.

Based on these striking challenges, The EMAHSN is holding an event called an ‘Innovation Exchange’ which will offer the opportunity to bring citizens, health and social care with industry to identify digital and technology innovations, with the aim of providing solutions to current issues of delivering health and care in rural settings.

The event is in collaboration with the National Centre for Rural Health and Care and takes place 6 December 2018 in Lincolnshire.

In response to patients and health and social care commissioners four key areas have been established, which include:

1. Support for people with multiple and complex needs to live independently in their own homes for longer in remote settings whilst underpinning their well-being.

2. Support for people in rural and remote settings who find it challenging to travel to a service centre to receive the health and care support they require, particularly if they have conditions which require frequent travel: oncology, dialysis etc.

3. Support for people suffering from loneliness in rural areas to address the challenges to their health and well-being including the option of remote “solutions”

4. Support for professionals delivering health and care services for people in rural settings

The Innovation Exchange event will begin the process of co-production to test out potential solutions in local NHS settings and if proven to work, our role will be to spread them throughout the East Midlands and beyond.

Register your place and learn more about the rural health Innovation Exchange here.