High street health plan could start 'quickly' - mayor

David Skaith says his plan could see healthcare services on the high street and increase footfall in towns

Some healthcare services could soon be available on North Yorkshire's high streets as part of plans to revitalise town centres, the county's elected mayor has said.

Labour's David Skaith said he was in talks with the NHS about making services such as screening and scans available from high street healthcare units.

Taking questions on BBC Radio York's Message the Mayor, Skaith said he was confident the scheme could get under way "quite quickly".

"Instead of going to York Hospital - for breast screening, for example - we can have that same offer so it means people don't have to go to a hospital, but more footfall is also driven onto high streets," he explained.

"It's about making high streets more about community, about being a place to see and do things, rather than relying on retail, which is changing."

Skaith, the elected mayor of York and North Yorkshire, said as well as getting more people back onto the county's high streets, pressure could also be reduced on hospitals.

Meanwhile, if his plan went ahead it could also prove easier for patients from rural communities to get to appointments, he said.

"We're talking to the NHS and are looking at the space and where the units would best fit," he said.

"We've identified a couple, but just need to make sure they're fit for purpose and the investment they would need to get going."

Skaith said rural healthcare - and the problems people had accessing it - was an important focus of his proposals.

"It's one thing doing it in York, where people are in striking distance of the hospital," he said.

"But it's another thing doing it out in the moors or the Dales. Right now, their health offering is not good enough.

"So, we're looking at taking the strain off front-line hospital services, looking at what health is available in rural communities, and getting more footfall onto high streets."

Listen to highlights from North Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North.