When healthcare meets the farm gate

Farmers play a vital role in rural communities, yet many face significant barriers when trying to access healthcare.

Last year, Healthwatch North Yorkshire spoke with farmers, farming families and organisations across the county to better understand these challenges. The work highlighted issues such as long working hours, travel distances, stigma around seeking help, and the difficulty of attending appointments during busy farming periods.

The findings were put into a report called Ploughing through barriers. These are now helping shape practical changes across North Yorkshire. These include healthcare teams visiting livestock markets, training for GP practice staff about farming life, and wider discussions about how services can better support rural communities.

You can also view a short infographic summarising the impact of this work.

Farming work often starts before dawn and can continue late into the evening, particularly during busy periods such as lambing, calving or harvest. This means attending appointments during standard working hours is not always practical, which is why bringing health advice and support closer to farming communities can make such a difference.

Bringing healthcare closer to farming communities

One of the key themes of the report was the need to bring health advice and support closer to farming communities.

Across North Yorkshire, several organisations have begun exploring ways to do this. For example, the Selby Living Well team from North Yorkshire Council attended Selby auction mart to speak with farmers about health and wellbeing support. Around 30 people spoke with the team, and one person was advised to seek urgent medical help after a very high blood pressure reading was identified.

Some GP practices and primary care networks have also begun taking services directly to farming communities. North Riding Primary Care Network has developed a rural health team which has attended auction marts alongside farming organisations to offer health checks, cancer awareness information, support and signposting to services.

Discussions are also taking place about expanding this work further. This includes exploring the possibility of nurses attending auction marts and considering whether health spaces could be included in future rural developments. For example, early conversations have taken place about whether a small health hub style space could be incorporated into plans for a proposed new livestock market near Malton.

Livestock markets often act as important meeting points for farming communities, making them a natural place to share health information and offer health checks or advice.

Helping services better understand farming communities

The report has also helped raise awareness among healthcare professionals about the unique pressures farmers face.

Healthwatch North Yorkshire has worked with organisations including the farming charity RABI to support training sessions for GP practice staff. These sessions help health professionals better understand the realities of farming life and how services can respond more effectively.

Some GP practices in rural areas have also begun coding farmers and farm workers on their patient records. This helps practices better understand their patient population and may allow them to consider farming commitments when offering appointments or health checks.

For example, some GP practices in Richmondshire have begun contacting patients to ask whether they are farmers, farm workers or part of a farming family so this information can be recorded on their GP records.

Training sessions have also highlighted the importance of understanding the farming calendar, including busy periods such as lambing and harvest, when farmers may find it particularly difficult to attend appointments.

Informing wider work on rural health

The findings from the report are also helping shape wider work across the health and care system.

For example, the report is helping inform North Yorkshire Council’s rural health needs assessment and has contributed to discussions about how cancer awareness and health information can better reach rural communities.

Healthwatch North Yorkshire has also shared the findings at a range of meetings and events, including local care partnership meetings, NHS patient experience forums and national rural health discussions.

The work was also highlighted at the Great Yorkshire Show during a panel discussion focused on supporting the wellbeing of people living and working in rural communities.

National interest and political attention

The report has also attracted interest beyond North Yorkshire.

The findings have also contributed to wider national discussions about rural health and wellbeing. The report has been referenced in evidence submitted to a national taskforce who are working to examinine rural health challenges in rural communities.

Members of Parliament have also taken an interest in the work. One MP used the report to raise questions in Parliament about how healthcare services can better support rural agricultural communities.

Organisations in other areas have also drawn on the findings to support similar initiatives. For example, a farming wellbeing event in Derbyshire used the report to inform discussions about improving healthcare access in rural communities.

A continuing conversation

Improving access to healthcare for farmers will require ongoing work between the NHS, local authorities, farming organisations and rural communities.

By sharing farmers’ experiences and highlighting practical ideas for improvement, Healthwatch North Yorkshire hopes the report will continue to support conversations about how services can become more accessible, flexible and responsive to the needs of rural communities.