Recommendation 12

HM Government · verbatim extract Accepted in Part

Unleashing Rural Opportunities , published by the Government in June 2023, sets out a range of actions being taken across government in support of rural areas including work to improve access to transport, digital connectivity, and support for farmers’ mental health wellbeing through Defra’s Future Farming Resilience Fund. It is vital that everyone can access support for their mental health when needed, no matter where they live. Government recognises that those living in rural communities may experience different or additional challenges to accessing mental health support than those in urban areas. Work is already underway across government to address these challenges. As part of the third phase of the NHS response to Covid-19, NHSE, DHSC has asked ‘Integrated Care Systems’ (ICSs) to develop digitally enabled care pathways in ways which increase inclusion, including reviewing who is using new primary, outpatient, and mental health digitally enabled care pathways. Digital solutions in mental health enable remote multidisciplinary team functioning and information sharing to reduce administrative burden and to improve patient experience, including patients with specific needs. A prime example of these are virtual appointments, that are today used across a range of services and are proving particularly beneficial for users in areas where services are often far away from people’s homes and communities. In the Spring 2023 Budget, we announced over £400 million to support the long-term sick and disabled to remain in or enter employment, including around £200 million for digital mental health. This funding will modernise and digitise mental health services in England, providing wellness and clinical grade apps free at the point of use, pilot innovative digital therapies, and digitise the NHS Talking Therapies programme. For rural communities, where access to talking therapy services may have been compromised in the past because it required long journeys to community hubs, patients now have a greater choice in how they receive therapy, and hence easier access. While DHSC recognises the importance of access to face-to-face care, NHS mental health services now also offer digital and remote access where appropriate to maintain care and accept new referrals. Therapy can be delivered via the telephone, text messaging, email or via digital packages that do not require the patient and therapist to be online simultaneously. This allows citizens to work around lifestyle and geographical factors, leveraging the power of digital accessibility. For those with severe needs or in crisis, all NHS mental health providers have established 24/7 all-age urgent mental health helplines, which currently receive around 200,000 calls each month. It is intended that, by 2024 to 2025, all parts of the country will have introduced crisis text lines to enable easier access to crisis care for those with specific needs, such as people who are neurodiverse and other marginalised groups. Given the opportunities to access mental health services online, we also recognise the importance of ensuring that everyone has access to good quality broadband. This why the government is delivering the biggest broadband upgrade in UK history. Project Gigabit is the government’s flagship £5 billion programme to enable hard-to-reach communities to access lightning-fast gigabit-capable broadband. It targets homes and businesses that are not included in broadband suppliers’ commercial plans, reaching parts of the UK that might otherwise not get the digital connectivity they need. DfT will look for opportunities to work with Defra, DHSC, and NHSE to maximise health outcomes for rural communities through the transport system.