Dairy farmer campaigns for defibrillators on farms

A dairy farmer is seeking industry support for a campaign to improve first aid provision and roll out life-saving defibrillators on British farms.

David Brookes, a dairy farmer based in Uttoxeter, Staffordshire, is lobbying the NFU, rural insurer NFU Mutual and others to support the idea after he drew inspiration from reading an article on defibrillators in the Daily Mail.

The article explained how medics used a defibrillator to save the life of Luton Town FC captain Tom Lockyer after he suffered a cardiac arrest when playing in a Premier League football match against Bournemouth.

See also: Young farmer campaigns for more rural defibrillators

The average age of a farmer in the UK is 59, but more than one-third of farmers are aged over 65.

Research carried out in Ireland has shown that farmers are seven times more likely to die from heart disease compared with their non-farming peers due to a range of factors, including family history, high blood pressure, high cholesterol and being overweight.

“We have got an ageing workforce, which I why I feel passionately that we should be rolling out defibrillators and improving first aid provisions on all our farms,” Mr Brookes told Farmers Weekly.

“Many pubs and village halls have installed defibrillators, which is great. But what we fail to recognise is that farms are isolated places and if a worker has a stroke or cardiac arrest they can be difficult for emergency services to get to quickly.”

Mr Brookes, who is also an NFU Council delegate, delivered a resolution on behalf of the NFU Midlands Regional Board on the matter at an open meeting on NFU Council in Stoneleigh, Warwickshire, on Tuesday 23 January.

Motion passed

The motions read: “The Midlands Regional Board recognises the vital importance of improving on-farm health and safety, with the promotion of better on-farm medical provisions, and the installation of on-farm defibrillators.

“This should be actively promoted to British farmers and growers to install, through the NFU and NFU Mutual.”  

NFU Council representatives voted unanimously to pass the motion.  

According to research supported by the British Heart Foundation (BHF), in the most deprived areas of England and Scotland, the nearest 24/7 accessible defibrillator is on average a round trip of over a mile, or 1.8km.

Every minute of delay between a cardiac arrest and defibrillation reduces the chance of survival by up to 10%, the BHF says. However, quick CPR and defibrillation is vital to give someone the best chance of survival, it adds.

(Mr Brookes is pictured outside a local pub next to his nearest defibrillator, which is sponsored by the NFU Mutual charity fund, and is located in Uttoxter, two miles from his farm).