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The problems of smaller, rural and remote hospitals: Separating facts from fiction

The problems of smaller, rural and remote hospitals: Separating facts from fiction

  • February 7, 2020
  • Louella Vaughan A and Nigel Edwards
  • Article

Smaller hospitals internationally are under threat. The narratives around the closure of smaller hospitals, regardless
of size and location, are all constructed around three common problems – cost, quality, and workforce. The literature is
reviewed, demonstrating that there is little hard evidence to support the contention that hospital merger/closure
solves these problems. The disadvantages of mergers and closures, including loss of resources, increased pressure on
neighbouring organisations, shifting risk from the healthcare system to patients and their families, and the threat hospital closure represents to communities, are explored. Alternative structures, policies, and funding mechanisms, based on the evidence, are urgently needed to support smaller hospitals in the UK and elsewhere.

  • Source: Future Healthcare Journal

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