Fielding better healthcare for North Yorkshire’s farmers
“Farmers told us they often put work ahead of their own health. Your voices are now helping to change this.”
Farming is central to life across North Yorkshire. Yet the nature of farming work can make it difficult to access healthcare when it is needed.
Long hours, early mornings, seasonal pressures and the realities of running a farm mean that attending appointments or seeking support can be challenging. Many farmers also work in isolation and may delay asking for help until problems become more serious.
To better understand these challenges, Healthwatch North Yorkshire spoke with farmers, farming families and people working closely with the agricultural community. The findings were published in the report Ploughing through barriers, which explored the barriers farmers face when accessing healthcare and what could help make support easier to reach.
Since the report was published, organisations have started taking forward ideas and testing new approaches. These developments show how listening to local experiences can lead to practical change.
Quicker read
For a shorter overview of this work, read our summary article.
When healthcare meets the farm gate
You can also view a short infographic summarising the impact of this work.
This page highlights some of the developments and discussions that have followed.
Bringing healthcare closer to the farming community
One of the clearest messages from farmers was that traditional ways of accessing care do not always fit around farming life. Travelling long distances or attending appointments during standard working hours can be difficult, especially during busy periods such as lambing, calving or harvest.
In response, healthcare teams have started taking support directly to places farmers already visit.
Groups of local GP practices working together (known as primary care networks) across North Yorkshire have begun attending livestock markets to offer health advice, checks and support. At one auction mart visit, farmers were able to receive blood pressure checks and talk through concerns. In one case, a dangerously high reading was identified and the person was advised to seek urgent medical care.
These GP practice groups are also developing new ways to provide care in rural settings. In one area, this has developed into a dedicated Rural Health Team run by the North Riding Primary Care Network. The team is visiting livestock markets, local events and agricultural shows, including sessions at Malton auction mart and a farm walk in Slingsby.
Alongside blood pressure checks, people can talk through a wider range of concerns, including aches and pains, ongoing coughs, alcohol use and early signs of illness. Advice, reassurance and follow up support are available where needed.
People can simply come along and speak to someone, without needing to book in advance.
The aim of these initiatives is to build a regular presence within rural communities and make support more visible and easier to access.
This approach builds on work already taking place in the farming sector. Initiatives such as the Field Nurse charity have shown how offering support in agricultural settings can help people seek help earlier. Inspired by this model, healthcare teams in North Yorkshire have begun trialling similar approaches at livestock markets, including sessions led by the North Riding Primary Care Network at Malton auction mart.
Livestock markets are not only places where farmers conduct business but also important social spaces within rural communities, making them a natural place to offer support.
There are also early discussions about creating more permanent health spaces within agricultural settings. For example, plans for a future livestock market development in Malton include the possibility of a health hub on site.
Building on this work, Healthwatch North Yorkshire is also working with South Tees Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust to explore placing nursing roles within auction marts. The Friarage Hospital has agreed in principle to host these roles, and discussions are underway to secure funding and sponsorship from organisations including the National Farmers Union, the Country Land and Business Association and agricultural feed companies.
Farmer walk in clinics in GP practices
Another idea emerging from the report is the development of farmer walk in clinics within GP practices serving rural communities.
These sessions are designed around farming schedules and allow people to attend without needing to book in advance.
Plans were developed with several groups of GP practices working together across North Yorkshire to trial this approach when workloads on farms were slightly quieter.
The sessions ran between November 2025 and January 2026.
A farmer walk in clinic is a dedicated session where anyone from the farming community can attend for a health check, advice or signposting without needing a pre booked appointment. The aim is to make it easier to get help for people whose working day does not fit standard appointment times.
The clinics were trialled in GP practices across several rural areas:
Hambleton North Primary Care Network, including:
Stokesley Surgery
Great Ayton Health Centre
Mayford House Surgery in Northallerton
Mowbray House Surgery in Northallerton
Hambleton South Primary Care Network, including:
Thirsk Health Centre
Lambert Medical Centre in Thirsk
Topcliffe Surgery
Glebe House Surgery in Bedale
South Hambleton and Ryedale Primary Care Network, including:
Millfield Surgery
Stillington Surgery
Tollerton Surgery
Terrington Surgery
Pickering Medical Practice
Kirkbymoorside Surgery
Leyburn Medical Practice, part of Richmondshire Primary Care Network.
This work began after Healthwatch North Yorkshire published Ploughing through barriers, which highlighted the the need for more flexible ways to access care.
“I can’t always take time off. Bringing services to us or at a time in our calendar that is more suitable makes a huge difference.”
Improving identification of farmers within healthcare records
Another practical step has been improving how people working in farming are identified within GP practice records.
Some GP practices and the wider groups they work in have started recording whether patients work in farming or come from farming families. This helps them better understand their local population and consider how support might need to adapt.
In some areas, practices have contacted patients directly to ask whether they work in agriculture so that this can be recorded.
This makes it easier to recognise potential barriers to attending appointments and consider more flexible options where needed.
Example of local action
Some GP practices have already adapted how they offer support in response to what farmers told us.
For example, Central Dales GP Practice, which serves communities around Hawes and Aysgarth, reviewed how it provides care after hearing feedback through the Ploughing through barriers report. The practice introduced more flexible ways for farmers to access help, including the option to call in, walk in or request support through an online form at any time. Evening and weekend appointments are also available to help people whose work makes daytime appointments difficult.
The practice has also taken steps to reduce travel and time away from farms, including offering blood tests at the surgery and providing medication deliveries to many patients. Staff have also worked with local vets so they can encourage farmers to contact the practice if they are concerned about someone’s wellbeing.
Supporting healthcare staff to better understand farming life
The research also highlighted that healthcare professionals may not always be familiar with the realities of farming work.
To help address this, training sessions have been delivered for GP practice teams across North Yorkshire. These sessions explain the practical challenges farmers face, the pressures linked to farming life and the barriers that can make seeking healthcare difficult.
The training has also highlighted the importance of understanding the farming calendar and recognising the impact that seasonal work can have on a person’s ability to attend appointments.
Healthwatch North Yorkshire worked with the farming charity RABI to deliver both in person training sessions and online learning events for GP practice staff. These sessions help increase awareness of farming life and the health challenges that can affect people working in agriculture.
This work has also sparked interest in creating a wider rural GP network so practices can share learning and build on what is working.
Working with trusted rural professionals
Farmers often have regular contact with rural professionals such as vets, agricultural advisers and auction mart staff. These relationships can play an important role in helping people access support.
Healthwatch North Yorkshire has encouraged greater awareness among rural professionals about the health challenges farmers may face and the support services available.
In some areas, healthcare teams are building closer links with rural professionals so they can help share information and encourage people to seek support earlier.
Supporting mental health in farming communities
Mental health was a key theme raised through the research.
Farming can be rewarding, but it can also bring pressures including financial uncertainty, long hours and isolation.
Veterinarians and other rural professionals often visit farms during stressful periods and may be among the first to notice changes in someone’s wellbeing.
Healthwatch North Yorkshire is supporting plans to help these professionals recognise early signs that someone may be struggling and feel confident starting supportive conversations.
This work is being developed with the Royal Agricultural Benevolent Institution, which provides specialist support for the farming community.
The aim is to ensure that people who regularly interact with farmers understand where support is available and can help guide people to it early.
Building on this, Healthwatch North Yorkshire is now developing a new project focused on supporting mental health in farming communities. This will involve taking practical support and information into places farmers already go, such as markets and events, helping people access support earlier and in ways that feel more natural and approachable.
Learn more:
Influencing wider work across the countryside
The report has been shared widely across local and regional networks.
Healthwatch North Yorkshire has presented the work to a range of organisations including local care partnerships, NHS forums and rural health events. The findings have also informed North Yorkshire Council’s rural health needs assessment and wider discussions about health inequalities in rural communities.
The work has also attracted interest beyond North Yorkshire. A researcher from Newcastle University cited the findings in evidence submitted to a national rural health and wellbeing taskforce examining health challenges affecting rural communities.
The report has also helped inform discussions with farming charities and organisations exploring new approaches to rural health support, including ideas such as mobile health services and community based initiatives.
In addition, the Humber and North Yorkshire Cancer Alliance has used insights from the farming work to inform projects aimed at improving cancer awareness and screening in rural communities.
The work has also reached national decision makers. After one of our volunteers shared the Healthwatch report with their local Member of Parliament, Julian Smith MP raised a series of written questions in Parliament about improving healthcare access for farmers and rural communities. These questions focused on issues raised by farmers in North Yorkshire, including the need for more flexible GP appointments and the role of mobile health services in rural areas.
National attention on farmers’ health
There has also been growing national attention on farmers’ health and wellbeing. Recent media coverage has highlighted the pressures facing farming communities and the importance of making support available in places farmers already visit, such as livestock markets.
Many of the experiences described in these reports echo the issues raised by farmers in North Yorkshire. Isolation, demanding working patterns and the difficulty of taking time away from the farm to seek help can all contribute to poorer health outcomes if support is not accessible.
By bringing services closer to farming communities and improving awareness of rural life within healthcare systems, organisations hope to make it easier for farmers to seek help earlier.
Continuing the conversation
Improving access to healthcare for farming communities will take time and ongoing work between health services, rural organisations and the farming community itself.
However, the developments that have already taken place show that listening to farmers’ experiences can lead to meaningful change.
From healthcare teams visiting auction markets to new training for GP practice staff, the trial of farmer walk in clinics and plans to bring more health services into rural locations, practical steps are beginning to make a difference.
As this work continues, the aim remains simple: ensuring that farmers across North Yorkshire can access the healthcare and support they need in ways that fit with the realities of farming life.
What happens next
The work to improve healthcare access for farming communities is continuing.
Organisations across North Yorkshire are exploring further ways to bring health support closer to rural communities. This includes developing farmer friendly services such as walk in clinics, building stronger links between health teams and the agricultural community, and ensuring the experiences of farming families inform future rural health planning.
There are also ongoing discussions about new initiatives, including the possibility of placing nursing posts within livestock markets and providing training for rural professionals such as vets so they can recognise early signs of mental health concerns and guide farmers to appropriate support.
Healthwatch North Yorkshire will continue sharing what farmers are telling us locally and nationally so that the realities of farming life remain part of conversations about how healthcare services are designed.
"When those in charge of care and support listen, get creativive and act, it makes a huge difference."
