Speaking to a motion in the Assembly which called for a rural health taskforce to be set up the Minister said:
“There are many factors which impact on people’s health – factors such as housing, employment, education and the quality of the environment. In fact, health is a cross-cutting issue which is the business of all government departments.
"I have said that my priority is to improve the health and wellbeing of the whole population of Northern Ireland, regardless of where they live. “
The Minister continued: “I recognise that there are particular health needs and difficulties faced by many people living in the countryside. They have real and genuine concerns especially in the South and West of the Province, and I believe these are issues which need to be discussed in a mature and measured way. “
The Minister outlined some of the work being undertaken to address the health needs of people living in the country including a review of rural medicine being led by the Chief Medical Officer. This review is examining how inpatient medical services can be delivered in local and rural hospital settings. It will also look at how primary and community care services can be improved with a focus on the needs of rural communities
Detailing some of the initiatives already underway Michael McGimpsey said: “There are already many positive things happening that affect the health and wellbeing of people living in the countryside.
“Hospital services are receiving significant investment .The ‘Developing Better Services Strategy, will enable the vast majority of our people to be within 45 minutes of emergency care and consultant-led maternity services. It will also mean that everyone will have access to those services within one hour.
“My Department’s 20 year strategy for health and social care, ‘A Healthier Future’, will ensure a front-line role for primary and community care services. This will importantly focus on an expansion in not only the range of services available near to where people live but also making services more accessible in terms of things like out of hours services.
“All of the five healths and social care trusts and the Ambulance Trust are working in local partnerships with rural networks to take forward a range of health improvement initiatives. These include research to explore the impact of rural isolation on poverty and disadvantage, and promotion of dedicated transport to enable access to services.
“A review of the ‘Investing for Health Strategy’, which is recognised as a successful model for improving public health is to be undertaken with a particular emphasis on the health impacts of living in a rural setting.
“Important work is also being undertaken by cross-border agencies such as ‘Co-operation and Working Together’ who are exploring opportunities to address the particular health care problems faced by people living along the border.”
NOTES TO EDITORS:
- The public health strategy ‘Investing for Health’ aims to improve health and wellbeing of all the population and reduce health inequalities. The strategy will be reviewed next year to see if it is still fit for purpose and to identify what other actions must be taken to improve the health of our population regardless of whether they live in a rural or urban setting.
- Developing Better Services Strategy -In February 2003, the then Minister of Health, Des Browne MP, announced the way forward for hospital services in Northern Ireland. The current configuration of 15 acute hospitals would be replaced by a network of nine acute hospitals supported by seven local hospitals.
- In December 2005 the Chief Medical Officer initiated a review on how general medicine can best be provided to all rural communities in Northern Ireland to achieve an appropriate balance between accessibility and safe, high quality practice.
For media enquiries please contact the DHSSPS Press Office on 028 9052 0571.
