The British Geriatrics Society welcomes the Chief Medical Officer’s new report looking at health in small towns and rural areas.
We are pleased to see the CMO acknowledge that older people make up a significant proportion of the population in small towns and rural communities, and that this poses a particular challenge for health services. As the NHS shifts services from hospital to community and neighbourhood health services are introduced across England, the needs of older people must be central to these plans as they are the population group most likely to be cared for by neighbourhood health services.
We also welcome the CMO’s focus on the healthcare workforce in small towns and rural communities. This builds on the themes highlighted in his 2023 report, Health in an ageing society, emphasising the need for more healthcare professionals to develop the general skills needed to care for an ageing population with increasing levels of frailty, dementia and other long-term conditions.
Professor Jugdeep Dhesi, President of the BGS, said:
Professor Sir Chris Whitty’s latest report highlights the health challenges experienced by those living in small towns and rural communities, including the high numbers of older people living in these areas. There is a particular need to ensure that rural health services are equipped to care for older people living with multiple long-term conditions, to enable this group to live independently for as long as possible.
Read the report here.
