FARMERS who attend the Aberdeen Christmas Classic at Thainstone on Monday 27 and Tuesday 28 November will be offered a free health “MOT”.
After a successful trial at events earlier this year including the Royal Highland Show, The Health Hut initiative will give guests the opportunity to have a check-up, including blood pressure, early diabetes detection and cholesterol testing.
The initiative hopes to break barriers to encourage farmers to think how they can improve their health, whilst allowing them to discuss any mental or physical health worries they might have.
The testing will be run by Scottish agricultural charity RSABI working with the event’s organisers, the ANM Group.
The Health Hut will be led by nurse Irene Scott, a practice nurse from a family farm in Fife, who has been working with RSABI to find the best approaches to delivering this service to those working in agriculture.
Carol McLaren, Chief Executive of RSABI said: “One of the challenges faced by farmers and others working in the agriculture industry is living in remote locations”.
Carol adds: “That, along with long working hours and a failure to prioritise their own health, too often results in farmers acting slowly to book appointments with health professionals when they have concerns about their wellbeing.
“In reality, the sooner they take action, the easier it is to tackle the problem.”
“With a number of farmers discovering underlying health conditions and subsequently seeking treatment from their GPs and we’re looking forward returning to Thainstone next week.”
Grant Rogerson, Chief Executive of ANM Group said: “We are very pleased to be continuing our work with RSABI on this ground-breaking project for Scotland.
Grant adds: “Initiatives like this offer great support to individual farmers and, with the Thainstone Centre being at the heart of the farming community in the North East, it is an ideal location for the Health Hut.
“Next week RSABI will be offering additional tests at the Health Hut and I would encourage our members and customers to make the most of the opportunity.”
The initiative will be run on the 27 and 28 November and no appointment is needed prior.
