Rural care for the elderly is not being handled appropriately by the NHS, who are failing to move resources to communities to deal with the aging population in the country.
According to the Royal College of Nursing, more investment in rural areas, more nurses and a significantly improved level of service is required to install confidence and improve the service overall.
Report Findings
The figures come from a report called “Going the Extra Mile”, which came in partnership with Age Scotland analysed health care and overall care for the elderly in health boards that had a higher percentage of elderly. All but one of the areas surveyed were expected to have a significantly higher number of elderly population by the year 2037 and as a result, health care must adapt and improve to meet the needs of the older population.
The report stated that the NHS staff in such areas were also aging with the health boards surveyed having a far higher proportion of nurses aged 50 and over in comparison to the rest of Scotland.
Seven recommendations to improve access to rural healthcare were suggested throughout the report with the focus being put on a “whole system approach” to recruitment and retention as well as boosting awareness about training and career progression. More also had to be done to attract more staff to work in rural areas with a greater focus on nationally agreed standards for training, education and career development.
Theresa Fyffe, RCN Scotland director, said: “Patients in remote and rural parts of Scotland already struggle to access services, and the geographical distribution of patients makes delivering a flexible service closer to home much more difficult.
“The future may, therefore, demand a more mobile and flexible nursing workforce along with technologically competent and confident staff and patients.
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