Cherilyn Mackrory, MP for Truro and Falmouth, has called on the Government to support rural communities with their unique healthcare challenges in a debate in Parliament yesterday (Tuesday, 12th Oct).
The debate on rural healthcare provision raised the complex challenges of delivering healthcare to rural communities, which generally have older constituents, more people living in isolation and higher levels of deprivation.
Speaking in the debate, Cherilyn called on the Government to recognise the year-round healthcare pressures Cornwall faces:
“Cornwall has more visitors outside of London than anywhere else in the country, so we have our winter pressures and then there is no respite in the summer months for our staff. We have issues with housing so we cannot recruit staff.
“There is a case to be made for extra funding for places such as Cornwall, and perhaps the wider south-west, to ensure that we have enough funding to treat all our visitors as well as our residents.”
Cherilyn also has called on the Government to consider launching a scheme to improve dental health in schools:
“I remember as schoolchildren we had somebody come into school to check over our teeth, just to see if there was anything going on. It is my understanding that someone does not have to be a dentist to be able to tell whether something is going wrong; dental technicians, hygienists and others can do this work.
“It would be worth doing pilots around the country, particularly in rural areas, to see whether that could cut down some serious dental issues with our children”.
Speaking after the debate, Cherilyn said:
“As a rural area with high levels of tourism, Cornwall has always faced unique healthcare challenges that make it harder to provide the services residents need and deserve.
“The quality of healthcare in rural areas often falls behind urban areas because of challenges related to demographics, service provision and costs.
“Residents in Cornwall find it harder to access dentists, GPs and emergency units compared to people in other parts of the country. I was therefore pleased to raise these issues in this debate with the Health Minister and I look forward to continuing to work with the Government on a range of solutions”