Hampshire is a predominantly rural county, home to the South Downs and the New Forest, with only 25% of its geography counted as being urban.* Unsurprisingly the distribution of the county’s population is focused in urban areas, with only 21.8% of people living in rural communities.
*This refers to the Hampshire County Council district of Hampshire which excludes Portsmouth and Southampton.
In 2016 there were 135 GP surgeries (main practice and branches) in the Hampshire County Council district, of which 27 were within rural areas. Although the number of surgeries may be sufficient for the population size, access to those health services is often an issue.
This map from 2016 shows the distribution of these practices across the county and its clear to see that many people living in rural areas need to travel some distance to reach a GP practice.
As of March 2024, in Hampshire 37.6% of adults and 54.8% of children had seen a dentist within the last two years compared to 48.5% and 61.6% in 2018. A survey carried out in 2022 of nearly 7,000 dental practices revealed that only 1 in ten were accepting new adult NHS patients. The demand for NHS dental places is a national issue but one that is compounded by issues of accessibility, with most dental practices being in urban areas.
A study by the Royal College of General Practitioners on health inequalities found that patients in rural areas are far more likely to, “experience difficulty accessing healthcare than those living in urban areas, due to relative levels of isolation, and the lack of reliable basic transport services, combined with poverty and morbidity or disability.”
NHS Hampshire and IOW are funding a project run by Dentaid – The Dental Charity which operates a mobile dentistry unit, helping to reach those entitled to free NHS dental care. In their first year they have treated over 5,000 patients, predominantly in urban areas on the South coast but are planning to expand into other areas of Hampshire over the next twelve months.
Access to GP and dental services are just a few of the experiences individuals have been reporting to Action Hampshire as part of our Healthwatch Hampshire Engagement. We want to reach people across the county from all walks of life, we want to gather feedback on their experiences, any issues they may have as well as any positive stories. We want to hear about the pharmacy you use, any specialists you’ve interacted with, if you’ve struggled to find a dentist, what happened when you called 111 or experiences with care providers. You might have had issues with access to services which could be due to distance, location booking systems, bus routes or availability – we want to hear about it all. Experiences of rural communities are underrepresented and we want to ensure that all voices are heard. By providing feedback Healthwatch Hampshire can provide health and social care decision makers with an overview of where there is a need for new services or improvements, they can track trends and advise on where initiatives like a mobile dentistry unit would have the most impact. Click here to provide your feedback.
We are also offering unrestricted grants of £250 for any community group who can gather feedback from 15 people. To apply please complete this application form.
