Researchers at the universities of York and Birmingham, in collaboration with Scarborough Hospital, will explore models, or ways of working, to help improve patient care and help emergency services cope with demand.

Professor Joy Adamson, from the University of York's Department of Health Sciences, said: ‘Whilst this is a national study, we will select a number of sites to collect more detailed information, for example Scarborough.

‘Here, we will focus on the needs of local patients, as they have been identified to us by them, and throughout the project we will continue to use their feedback to look for solutions that are relevant to the most pressing concerns with regard to accessing emergency care and their experience of the service.'

Researchers will address factors such as how coastal emergency departments can face overcrowding in summer periods due to high numbers of visiting holiday makers and how people living in rural coastal areas can have poorer health and a lower life expectancy than those living in other areas.

The study, funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research, is expected to release its findings in 2027 and will inform national and international decision makers about how best to provide urgent emergency care in rural areas.