The Farm Families Health Check van has become a familiar sight at livestock marts and agricultural shows across Northern Ireland over the past 10 years. The service, which includes a 15-minute medical assessment, is available free of charge with no requirement to book an appointment beforehand.

“We are out and about three days a week or so. We aim to do 65 mart visits, 60 rural community events and 12 visits to agri businesses every year,” explains programme manager, Christina Faulkner.

To date, over 22,000 medical assessments have been carried out as part of the initiative, which is funded by the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs and the Public Health Agency. The checks cover a range of common issues, such as blood pressure and cholesterol.

“We measure your height, weight, and waist circumference, and then from that we can work out your risk of developing diabetes. If we feel you are at high risk, we can do a test which gives an average of your blood sugars over the past 10 to 12 weeks and we will give you a result straight away,” Christina says.

“Every client also has an opportunity to talk about their mental health. We raise awareness about spotting the early signs of cancer, especially those symptoms that people tend to ignore. Clients will also get advice about alcohol consumption, smoking and how to maintain a healthy diet.”

Farmers are notoriously bad at keeping tabs on their own health and at getting a medical assessment carried out early on when a health problem appears. This is made worse by limited appointment availability and long waiting times at local health centres.

“There are people who will bury their head in the sand and will ignore health problems. That’s what we’re there for, to provide a service that is accessible and easy for people to avail of if they are worried about something. We are about health promotion and health screening,” Christina says.

Onward referral

The team at the Farm Families Health Check can also make a referral for clients to get other medical advice after their visit. This includes seeing their own GP and accessing stop-smoking services or counselling offered through charities such as Rural Support.

“Our biggest issue for onward referral would probably be cholesterol. Also, blood pressure can be a common issue and we are finding quite a lot of farmers have developed skin lesions that need checked out,” Christina explains.

She says it is important that farmers get advice about looking after their skin and keep an eye for any new or irregular lesions that develop.

“Outdoor workers are more prone to developing skin cancers later in life. The top of your ears and head are exposed to UV-rays the whole time and it has a cumulative effect that builds up over years. Farmers tell us: ‘There is no sun in this country so I couldn’t get skin cancer.’ But they are at risk because they are outside all the time.”

Another myth that Christina is keen to bust surrounds diet and exercise. Many farmers think they don’t need to exercise because they spend most of their time working outdoors, but that is not correct in a lot of cases.

“Farming is not as manual as it was 30 or 40 years ago. There is a lot more machinery to help you with your farming nowadays. The body gets used to a certain amount of exercise that you do when working so you want to be doing a bit more to increase your heart rate,” Christina says.

“Guidelines recommend you should be taking 30 minutes of exercise at least five times a week. This is where you are pushing yourself a bit more than usual. We are not saying you have to go to a gym or anything. Even going for a brisk walk is good exercise and it is also a really good way of getting your head cleared,” she says.

Younger farmers

The Farm Families Health Check seems like an excellent service that allows farmers to get any health issues assessed and acts as a starting point for a lifestyle change. But is it only for older farmers? What about us young ones?

“The service is for over 18s. There is something there for everybody. In my opinion, just because you’re young, doesn’t mean you’re healthy. I think you want to instil good habits when you’re young,” Christina responds.

The Farm Families Health Check van.

Common issues that are discussed with younger farmers during visits to the health check van include exercise routines, smoking habits, and alcohol consumption. Drinking sugary energy drinks is not recommended either, even if you are busy at silage.

“You could have someone in their 20s and you could see something like familial hypercholesterolemia, which is heredity high cholesterol. We could pick something like that up. You just don’t know until you get checked out,” Christina says. CL