Sign up to the health, wellbeing and safety programme for farmers in Larne!

A free programme to help improve health, wellbeing and safety in farm families is being run from Tuesday 13th September, once a month for 6 months, in Larne Market Yard. A hot lunch is provided and each person taking part will get a free body warmer.

It is called Focus on the Farm Family and includes a full health check including blood pressure monitoring, BMI, cholesterol check, diabetic screening and looking at mental health. Special speakers will then come along each month beginning with Dr Brian Hunter who is a local GP and part time farmer. Topics include healthy eating, promoting mental health, farm safety, what to do in an emergency on the farm and cancer awareness.

The programme is being run by the Northern Health and Social Care Trust in partnership with Ulster Farmers Union (UFU), Rural Support, Health and Safety Executive Northern Ireland and the Farm Families Health Check Programme.

Yvonne Carson, Senior Health Promotion Officer in the Northern Trust said, “This programme has been planned around lunch time to make it as accessible as possible and not to interrupt with busy farm schedules. From previous times, we know that everyone not only benefitted from it but thoroughly enjoyed it.”

James McCluggage from the Larne UFU group added, “This new programme has run in a couple of other areas with great success and all participants have recommended it to other farmers and their families. As farming can be a lonely business, it also gives farmers the opportunity to meet up and have a chat within a relaxed informal setting.”

If you live in the Larne area and would like to sign up to the programme or would like more details please contact James on 077 7498 6662 or 028 2827 2728.

24th August 2016