Why the transport experience is important in the context of health provision in Coquetdale

Healthwatch Northumberland has examined the updated Travel Impact Report specific to the Rothbury and Coquetdale area that was produced in January 2019 by the Northumberland Clinical Commissioning Group following the 2016 proposal to close the in-patient beds at the Rothbury Hospital.

The report demonstrates two key facts: for many people in the upper dale there is little or no public transport and the only towns directly accessible from Coquetdale are Alnwick, Morpeth and Newcastle. It reports that there are several uncertainties, mainly arising from potential reductions in transport funding, to the future of public transport; that although private car ownership/usage in the Coquet Valley is reported high, it is important to consider the reality behind assumptions about people’s current and future ability to drive to a health service, specially with an aging population of Northumberland.

The report recommends considering the implications of the aspects of transport experience detailed within, including the future uncertainties around public transport, to be addressed as part of the Travel Impact and Equality Impact Assessment to the Rothbury Hospital proposals both for the in-patient beds and a Health and Wellbeing Centre.