Rural Health in Focus: Chief Medical Officer’s Visit

A recent visit by Chris Whitty to East Riding of Yorkshire has brought national attention to an issue well understood across the VCSE sector: the persistent health inequalities affecting rural and coastal communities.  Read more here

A national lens on local realities

The visit contributes to the Chief Medical Officer’s forthcoming annual report, which will explore health and wellbeing in rural areas and small towns. During his time in the East Riding, Chris Whitty engaged directly with partners, residents, and community organisations to understand how inequality presents itself on the ground.

Crucially, this was not a theoretical exercise. It was rooted in place—visiting services, listening to lived experiences, and examining how systems function across a wide and dispersed geography.

For VCSE organisations, this level of national focus is significant. It reinforces what many already see every day: location continues to play a major role in shaping health outcomes.

Seeing the system in action
The visit highlighted a range of community-based services and assets, including

• Local wellbeing and inclusion initiatives
• Outreach programmes supporting harder-to-reach groups
• Community spaces designed to improve access and connection

A strong example of this approach is the Humber Bridge Wellbeing Hub, which demonstrates how accessible, place-based support can reach individuals who might otherwise be excluded.

Recognition is due to everyone involved in delivering work like this. It brings together prevention, accessibility, and community connection in ways that policy alone cannot achieve.

Beyond healthcare: the conditions of living
A key theme from the visit was the importance of a “conditions of living” approach to health. This recognises that outcomes are shaped by a wide range of factors beyond healthcare services, including:

• Housing
• Education
• Employment
• Transport
• Environment

For many VCSE organisations, this reflects the reality of their work—supporting people holistically, rather than focusing solely on clinical needs.

It also reinforces an important message: the VCSE sector is not peripheral to health systems—it is fundamental to them.

Rural inequality: different, not lesser

Another clear takeaway is that rural inequality presents differently to urban deprivation—and requires different responses.

• Challenges such as:
• Limited transport options
• Reduced access to services
• Workforce shortages
• Isolation and loneliness

can be more acute, or simply different in nature, across rural and coastal areas.

For communities like Bridlington and surrounding areas, this underlines the need for flexible, locally driven solutions that reflect real-world conditions.

The challenge now is ensuring those insights shape future policy and investment.

And if initiatives like the Humber Bridge Wellbeing Hub are anything to go by, there is a strong and compelling story to tell.

The VCSE opportunity (and responsibility)

This visit sends a clear signal: national leaders are paying attention.

For the VCSE sector, this creates an opportunity to:

• Influence how rural health is understood at a national level
• Highlight effective, community-led approaches
• Strengthen collaboration with statutory partners and Integrated Care Systems

However, it also brings responsibility:

• To evidence impact
• To elevate lived experience
• To continue advocating for approaches grounded in community need

Final thought

There is real value in national leaders stepping into local environments and seeing the reality first-hand. What this visit makes clear is simple: innovation in rural health is already happening—it is just often being led within the VCSE sector.

Great job to everyone involved in the Humber Wellbeing Hub—this kind of work is exactly what system leaders need to see more of. It brings together prevention, accessibility, and community connection in a way that policy alone simply can’t deliver.

Beyond healthcare: the conditions of living