Health lorry bridges mental and physical wellbeing

A converted livestock lorry has been helping a Welsh farming charity bridge the gap between mental and physical health, seeing close to 5,000 people in just 13 months.

The DPJ’s Hywel Davies Lorry, which looks like a standard livestock lorry, is in fact a mobile health hub for the farming community.

Here, farmers can get advice about blood pressure, diabetes, first aid, cholesterol, iron and vitamin D levels, and general health checks.

See also: Farm Doctor: Who is at risk of diabetes?

No appointments are needed, and everyone is welcome to say hello and have a basic health check, which only takes five minutes.

The lorry was the brainchild of DPJ founder Emma O’Sullivan, who came up with the idea in 2018 as a way of normalising conversation about mental and physical health.  

It is staffed by qualified NHS nurse Emma Morgans, who provides confidential advice and health checks for farmers.

Since its inception, Ms Morgan has held 1,220 health hub sessions.

And in just over a year, 252 people have been referred to see their GP, three have been urged to go to hospital, 613 people have been given medical advice, and 620 have received mental health advice.

“Medically, lots of people come in with undiagnosed diabetes and lots of people have high blood pressure, which could be attributed to being stressed,” says Emma.

“Chatting to people and having a cuppa, they are worried about finances, how to pay their bills, or they haven’t got enough feed for their animals, or they can’t pay their staff.

“We’re trying to bridge the physical and the mental health gap.” 

Some people only come in to talk and have a cup of tea, but to most it’s a rural lifeline for when time to see the GP is in short supply.

Michael Tucker, a beef and sheep farmer from the Gower, said he went in when he attended Carmarthen mart.

“I’m really glad the lorry is here. I wouldn’t go to the doctor otherwise. It’s a job to get an appointment these days.”

Tom Beynon, who also farms on the Gower with his dad Keith, said: “Farmers aren’t fussed with going to the doctors. It’s good to have this at the mart – get checked out to make sure everything is functioning correctly.”

For more information about the Hywel Davies Lorry and the DPJ’s “Share the Load” service visit the DPJ website.