Our Projects - Farming Community Health Project

Taking Health and Wellbeing Support into Our Farming Communities

Bringing services together, reaching rural communities and making health support more accessible.

Farming is a huge part of life across the Yorkshire Coast and Wolds, but finding time to look after your own health isn't always easy when you're working in agriculture. Long hours, rural isolation and the practicalities of leaving the farm can all create barriers to accessing health and wellbeing support.

Through the Yorkshire Coast & Wolds Neighbourhood Health Partnership, we secured Better Care Funding to deliver a rural farming health project, working in partnership with Frank Hill and Son in Dunswell.

The idea was simple: bring a range of health and wellbeing services into a familiar setting within the farming community, making it easier for people to access support, find out more about their health and have conversations they might otherwise put off. 
Bringing services together

The project has brought together a wide range of teams and organisations, offering access to different aspects of health and wellbeing in one place. These have included:

•  Liver scanning services
•  The Oral Health Team
•  Cancer Alliance
•  PCN Mental Health Team
•  Social Prescribers
•  Alzheimer's Society
•  Health Inequalities Bus team

Alongside health checks and information, having these services available together creates opportunities for people to speak to professionals, ask questions and find out what support is available to them. 
Working differently to reach our rural communities

This project is a great example of partnership working in practice. By working with Frank Hill and Son and bringing different services together, we've been able to take a more joined-up approach to health and wellbeing in a setting connected to the local farming community.

It's about recognising that the same approach doesn't work for everyone. Sometimes, making a real difference means finding new ways to reach people, reducing barriers and making support easier to access.

As the project approaches the end of its funded period, we're reflecting on the work delivered and what we've learned about reaching rural communities. The experience highlights the value of working together across organisations and finding practical, community-focused ways to improve access to health and wellbeing support across the Yorkshire Coast and Wolds.