In the country

How will the health service reforms affect rural economies, asks the Primary Care Trust Network (part of NHS Confederation)? Differently, it seems, is the answer. In its briefing, the PCT Network warns commissioners and others to pay attention to the particular demographic and geographic challenges in rural locations, especially the older-than-average population and the hard to reach pockets of deprivation. The report also consider the outlook for the health market, suggesting that rural areas have a propensity for market failure in some sectors: any plans for implementation need to be "rural proofed."