Farm Safety week Monday 17th- Friday 21st July
As part of our Healthy Clubs 2023 Campaign, we hosted Farm Safety week at Greencastle Community Centre from Monday 17th – Friday 21st July. A variety of events were held throughout the week.
Our main objectives were to raise awareness, share positive stories/technology to improve safety and also to challenge farm safety attitude and encourage farmers to look after their physical and mental health.
On Tuesday 18th- we hosted the PHA Farm Family Health Van. This was an excellent opportunity for members of the community to receive a health check. Health assessments included blood pressure, BMI, cholesterol, diabetic risk score, and mental wellbeing.
On Thursday 20th July we held a Free Farm Family First Aid Awareness training. This was in partnership with Global Horizon Skills/CAFRE, with a Free First Aid kit for each attendee over 18. We would like to thank everyone who attended the training.
Attendees gained an awareness in:
▪︎The four key danger areas on a farm of Slurry, Animals, Falls and Equipment (SAFE)
▪︎Common workplace injuries on a farm
▪︎Practical steps in a medical emergency on a farm
▪︎Relevant first aid procedures e.g. ABCs, CPR, recovery position etc to assist with common medical injuries encountered on a farm which may include spinal injuries, bleeding, amputation, shock, burns and other relevant conditions.
▪︎The contents of First Aid Box and their use.
▪︎ Tools/technologies available to aid lone workers in emergency situations
Throughout the week we shared relevant advice and links to websites discussing farm safety for the whole family. These included;
Keeping children safe on the farm
Agriculture has one of the highest fatal accident rates of any industry in Northern Ireland and is also the only high risk industry that has to deal with the constant presence of children.
Farm safety checklist for parents/carers:
•have a safe and secure play area for young children
•prevent children from playing in or around farmyards and livestock
•make sure your vehicles have good all-round visibility
•prevent all children under 13 years from riding on tractors and farm machinery
•restrict the use of the quad and provide suitable safety equipment
•secure all heavy wheels, gates, heavy equipment and stacked materials to prevent them from toppling over
•ensure your slurry lagoon is securely fenced to prevent children from gaining access and make sure tank covers are always in place
•always keep children well away when mixing slurry
•keep track of where family members are playing or working and when they are expected back
•make sure everyone washes their hands before eating and drinking
•keep chemicals locked in a secure store when not in use
•make sure that guards are in place to prevent access to dangerous parts of machinery
•make sure all family members know what to do in an emergency
•prepare a list of emergency contact telephone numbers.
The Farm Safety Foundation has also produced a guidance document aimed at the parents of children who live on farms. It contains lots of excellent farm safety advice:
https://yellowwellies.org/FarmSafet yMessage_Parents_1020/flipbook/?page=1
Farm in Mind (PHA campaign)
Mental health is a concern for us all. The past few years have been particularly stressful for everyone, and there has been considerable change in recent years within the agriculture sector. Recognising the signs and symptoms of stress at an early stage can be beneficial so that things don’t fester and worsen.
Taking care of your mental health will have a positive impact on your work, so that you can continue to work well on your farm.
Stress and suffering from mental health conditions have been known to heighten the risk of accidents which can ruin lives and businesses.
You may not be able to put your finger on exactly what is causing you stress or causing you worry or there may be more than one thing on your mind, here is where the new Farm in Mind website should help.
https://www.farminmind.co.uk/help-advice
