Devon to host annual national rural health conference
Devon has been selected to host this year’s national Rural Health Conference, being held at Sandy Park, Exeter, on Friday, 18 October.
Organised by the Rural Health Network, and supported by Devon County Council, the theme of this year’s conference is “Challenging Times – One Year On” – working together to deliver effective rural health services.
Councillor Andrea Davis, Devon County Council’s Cabinet Member for health and wellbeing said: “It’s an honour to be hosting this event, which is highly significant for Devon and its population, as one of the largest rural authorities in the country.
“This is an opportunity for us to share ideas to tackle some of the main challenges we face, as well as discussing how we can make best use of the health benefits of living in such a beautiful landscape.
“We have long said that the needs of rural authorities should be recognised in funding settlements, so that we can address some of the issues we have prioritised in our health and wellbeing strategy.”
Devon’s Director of Public Health, Dr Virginia Pearson will open the conference and welcome the guest speakers, who come from a range of organisations including Scottish Telehealth Centre and BT Global and clinical and professional leads from local authorities and healthcare trusts.
Dr Pearson said: “We’re pleased to be hosting this year’s annual Rural Health Conference, which gives an opportunity to share ways of improving health and healthcare in rural areas.
“The health and wellbeing of people living in rural areas is a high priority for Devon County Council and its partners, as Devon is the third largest county in England, which is also sparsely populated by a few large urban areas in between a significantly dispersed rural population.
“We have identified a number of significant challenges across the county, such as deprivation, a growing ageing population and problems with social isolation and social exclusion, and these are compounded with the high cost of housing and issues such as fuel poverty.
“Through collaborative working with our health, district and community partners we are seeking to ensure services have a strong focus on meeting the needs of our rural population.”
The workshops will have a strong Devon focus, which include Neighbourhood Health Watch, hosted by Dr Peter Aiken from the Devon Partnership NHS Trust; Improving Health and Wellbeing in Rural Areas hosted by Mary Nisbett from Westbank Healthy Living Centre in Exminster, and rural area health funding, hosted by Professor Sheena Asthana from Plymouth University.
The Rural Health Network has been established to enable public health, health and social care professionals, as well as wider stakeholders across the country to share best practice, learn about delivering high quality services and engage effectively with to rural communities, as well as making the case for a better deal for rural provision in health services and public health.
Nick Payne of the Rural Health Network said: “Membership of the network is building well. We are hoping to reach 200 member organisations by the end of the year from all sectors involved with rural health. The Devon conference will help to consolidate the RHN in the far south west and facilitate good interchange with practitioners in other regions.”
For further information or to book a place on the conference please visit the website.
