Plan for Menu of Models Project
Project background: What and Why
The National Centre for Remote and Rural Health and Care (the Centre) is working on a range of programmes aimed at improving remote, rural and island recruitment and retention. Improving the health of those living in our remote, rural and island communities require a range of different solutions for different people with different health and care needs in our communities.
Providing health and care services for people living in our remote, rural and island communities need each area to be able to attract and retain suitably skilled staff.
Evidence shows that a “one size fits all approach” is not appropriate to meet these needs across remote, rural and island areas. Instead a dynamic multi strand options approach to attracting and keeping skilled staff. This project will share a range of tried and tested models, approaches, tools and options for uptake and adaptation across remote, rural and island settings in Scotland.
Remote, rural and island areas of Scotland continue to face significant population health challenges. Rural Scotland accounts for 98% of the land mass of Scotland and 17% of the population live in remote and rural areas.
Many of these communities face additional challenges from outward migration combined with an ageing population and high levels of chronic disease; a limited workforce base within a small sized population; difficulties with recruitment and retention of health and care staff; and lack of economies of scale resulting in high costs for energy, infrastructure, transportation, communication, and services.
Project description: Who and How
This project is being undertaken by the centre team in conjunction with a number of key partners across Scotland. It also makes use of evidence based international remote and rural recruitment and retention of healthcare workforce evidence, and models.
The project will show the results of implementing new ways of improving recruitment and retention of health and care staff in remote, rural and island primary and community settings. The project will include the results of implementing established models of this type for the first time in Scotland and the UK.
Expected outcome: When and What Difference
This project will be completed by March 2025.
The overall outcome of the Centre is that it will measurably improve the sustainability, capacity, and capability of the remote, rural and island primary care and multi-disciplinary community-based workforce and the vital services they deliver to support people living in remote, rural and island communities across all of Scotland.
This project fulfils part of the work of the Centre Phase 1 in taking a cost effective, streamlined and evidence-based approach to identifying a range (menu) of options for building and retaining sustainable workforce for the provision of health and care services across a range of different remote, rural and island communities.
