Lessons from a farmers’ health service

Abstract

Aim To provide and evaluate a nurse-led mobile health service aimed at the farming community in rural North Lancashire. Method A customised van, staffed by a graduate nurse practitioner (NP) and a support worker from a farming background, visited local auction markets regularly to provide a drop-in health service. Data were gathered from follow-up telephone interviews with patients who had used the service, an audit of anonymised case notes made by the NP and personal journal accounts of the project staff. Results were recorded from January 2000 to January 2001. Results In the period under study, 211 patients had initial consultations with the NP with a further 330 follow-up consultations. Telephone interviews carried out with 98 service users showed that 94 per cent of them were happy to recommend it to others. Of the 211 patients, 126 had 'just wanted a checkup'; 85 had a specific problem, of whom 59 were not being treated by their GPs. Of the 126 patients having a check-up, 70 were found to have significant health problems, with the majority being mental health problems and cardiovascular disorders, and only 17 patients were being seen by GPs. Conclusion A large amount of ill health in this farming community was not being treated. Mental health and cardiovascular problems were common. Patients responded well to the service and to the fact that the NP and support worker were from farming backgrounds. This research was carried out before the recent outbreak of foot and mouth disease, which exacerbated the problems already experienced by this community.