May 22, 2026
The Farm Families Health Checks Programme is being celebrated as a model of neighbourhood care as it marks a major milestone.
Established in 2012, the service has now provided on-the-spot health checks to 30,000 people in rural communities, and its ongoing success was highlighted at two recent health-focused conferences.
Doreen Bolton, Health and Wellbeing Locality Lead, and Christina Faulkner, Farm Families Coordinator, presented to an audience of over 200 at a Roche Diagnostics event in Dublin. They also took part in a panel discussion highlighting on how diagnostics can support integrated care in practice, bringing services closer to communities through the use of near‑patient testing.
Doreen also spoke at the Health Innovation and Research Alliance (HIRANI) Conference in Belfast, focusing on ‘building a community ready diagnostic ecosystem’. The panel included Mike Farrar, Permanent Secretary at the Department of Health, Dr Cathy Harrison, Chief Pharmaceutical Officer and Neighbourhood Model of Care lead, Rozanna Hardie from Roche Diagnostics, and Kathy Jackson, Chief Executive of the Blood Transfusion Service.
Reflecting on its success and impact so far, Doreen said: “We are very proud to have reached our 30,000th health check and to have these opportunities to showcase the service as a model of good practice. It demonstrates how early intervention and prevention can play a crucial role in addressing health inequalities.
“By moving diagnostics closer to communities through near‑patient testing, we are showing how care can be delivered differently, enabling earlier intervention, improving access, and supporting better health outcomes.
“The Farm Families Health Checks Programme is a strong example of neighbourhood care in action, delivering vital health services directly to people and ensuring support is available where it is needed most.”
Notes to Editors
The Public Health Agency (PHA) partners with the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) to develop and co-fund the Farm Families Health Checks Programme. It has been successfully delivered by the Northern Trust since March 2012, helping to improve the health and social wellbeing of farmers and farm families across Northern Ireland.
Members of the Farm Families Health Checks team celebrates reaching its 30,000th health check with Health Minister, Mike Nesbitt and Fearghal McKinney, Head of British Heart Foundation in Northern Ireland.
Marking the Farm Families Health Checks team’s 30,000 milestone (left to right) are Christina Faulkner, Farm Families Coordinator, Doreen Bolton, Northern Trust Health and Wellbeing Locality Lead, Health Minister, Mike Nesbitt, Rozanna Hardie, Roche Diagnostics, Bernadette Millar, PHA, Fearghal McKinney, Head of British Heart Foundation in Northern Ireland, and Shaz Passi, Roche Diagnostics.
Marking the Farm Families Health Checks team’s 30,000 milestone (left to right) are Doreen Bolton, Northern Trust Health and Wellbeing Locality Lead, Elizabeth McIlwaine, Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs, Michael McConville, Andrew Muir, Minister of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs, and Christina Faulkner, Farm Families Coordinator.
Doreen Bolton, Health and Wellbeing Locality Lead with the Northern Trust, and Christina Faulkner, Farm Families Coordinator, on stage at the Roche Diagnostics event in Dublin
