Tomorrow morning, Healthwatch North Yorkshire takes the concerns of 1,600 Swaledale residents directly to the NHS Integrated Care Board. The survey results are sobering—90% of respondents identified "transport and isolation" as their primary barrier to accessing care if the Reeth surgery closes. Healthwatch is expected to present a dossier of personal testimonies, some detailing journeys of over 40 minutes for simple blood tests, creating a powerful case for a "rural weighting" in healthcare funding.
Source: Richmondshire Today