Rural areas in the Northern Periphery face specific challenges with regard to the provision of high quality, coherent/integrated health services. These challenges manifest in the obvious geographic factors including isolation and small dispersed populations, limited public transport and road infrastructure and the resultant, long distances to hospitals and primary health care services institutions and the significant difficulties in attracting and recruiting qualified and experienced personnel in rural health care services. This is compounded by the increasing centralisation of specialist secondary care services and the increase in the proportion of the elderly population relative to total population. This project will examine and pilot a number of approaches to address several different aspects of challenges to providing coherent, high quality health services to the population in the Northern Periphery. A holistic approach, focusing on patient pathways, will contribute to improved accessibility of high quality, coherent and sustainable healthcare services in remote and rural areas. The project will examine and redevelop co-operative partnerships between professions and sectors, sustainable technological solutions for clinical cooperation, and training programs to enable broader professional roles. Expected Results: The tools developed in the project will be used to enable the participating regions to provide high quality, coherent and sustainable services, regardless of the natural handicaps presented by their NPP location. Utilising total capacity of the health care system in the northern periphery is vital to respond to the demands of healthcare services and thus support the viability of small, remote and often isolated rural communities. The project will also contribute to an increase in the level of both professional and patient satisfaction. Their satisfaction will increase within a healthcare system that is sustainable, particularly given the specific geographical and demographical challenges faced in the northern periphery.