Rural proofing for health: a commentary

Abstract

Health services policies in the UK have traditionally been developed as a 'one size fits all' approach usually based on urban models. This approach can be problematic for primary care agencies involved in the delivery of services in rural and remote areas, due to difficulties with access and also the differences in the nature of urban and rural communities. The Countryside Agency in England has developed a rural proofing framework which will assess the impact that new policies may have in rural areas. This process is currently being applied across all government departments. This article sets out the context of the National Health Service (NHS) in the UK and describes the process of Rural Proofing for Health and how it can be used to improve equity of access to care for people living in rural and remote communities in Britain and across the international healthcare community. There has been a considerable increase in investment in the NHS in recent years with consequent improvements such as reductions in waiting times for treatment. Despite tangible improvements there are still inequalities in health and inequities in healthcare provision, which include parts of the population who live in rural areas. The Rural Proofing for Health project has been developed and carried out by the Institute of Rural Health as a methodology to help Primary Care Organisations implement policies and methods of service delivery that take into account the needs of people living in rural and remote areas. A toolkit has been developed that adopts a solutions-based approach to healthcare delivery in rural areas and which will help people living in rural areas to have equity of access to care with their counterparts living in urban Britain. Rural proofing policies before implementation ensures that the possible impacts of the policy are measured and so that adjustments can be made to ensure that the service will be appropriate for rural communities, and that it can be delivered effectively and efficiently in a rural context. It is important that development of new healthcare policies includes a process that ensures such policies are rurally sensitive. Involving stakeholders at a strategic level ensures that the initiative becomes embedded into policy-making within each department. Rural proofing is a systematic methodology that will help policy makers take account of health needs in rural areas and will hold public bodies accountable to their rural communities.