Farmers urged to seek support for stress and mental health issues

Dr Lisa Cunningham, consultant in emergency medicine at Mayo General Hospital, said a lot of older farmers 'bury their feelings in work'. Picture: CRITICAL

Doctors have appealed to farmers, particularly older farmers, to look for support for stress and mental ill-health which has a devastating effect on the farming community.

Getting help on time with physical injuries is also crucial even in remote areas, doctors with emergency medical response charity CRITICAL, said.

This charity works with the National Ambulance Service. 

Its volunteers respond to 999/112 calls for crises including medical issues as well as accidents on farms.

Dr Mark Ruddy, a GP in Wicklow, said when it comes to mental health, many farmers find it difficult to open up.

“We know that older men in isolated areas are a high-risk group, so a lot of the time you’re talking about farmers who have limited social outlets,” he said.

“I ask all my older patients who are in for other things about their mood and we pick up a lot of people who are low or depressed or anxious so I see a lot of early presenters through my GP work.” 

However this is not always picked up on. 

“Unfortunately I see the other end of the spectrum through the CRITICAL response when the stress could lead to issues such as heart attack or stroke,” he said.

“We also see a lot of suicides and I think farmers are probably disproportionately represented in the suicide statistics.” 

This also a worry for Dr Lisa Cunningham, consultant in emergency medicine at Mayo General Hospital.

“There are a lot of younger farmers who have an insight into the pressures that come with working in that sector and they’re more likely to talk to someone about how they’re feeling,” she said.

“However, there are a lot of older farmers who bury their feelings in work. 

"Very often, they feel like they might be a burden on someone or they may not have as many social outlets available to them where they can talk to other people and they just carry on without talking to anyone.” 

Farm safety

Both doctors raised concerns about the need to quickly access a farm when someone has an accident.

Dr Ruddy said the first 10 to 20 minutes after an incident are critical for recovery.

“But it could take a lot longer to get to a farmer either because they’re in a very remote area or they have no way of raising the alarm if something happens to them,” he warned.

This could be a machinery accident or medical issue such as heart attack or stroke, he said. 

“Farmers often work alone so by the time a responder gets to them they could be a few hours into the trauma and that could mean a much longer time to recover," he added. 

CRITICAL will have a stall at the National Ploughing Championships next week. Picture: CRITICAL

Dr Cunningham has seen many farmers are reluctant to go to hospital because they may not have anyone to keep the business going.

The charity runs in a number of counties, recently expanding the Kerry group and opening a community first responder group in Carrick on Suir.

CRITICAL will have a stall at the National Ploughing Championships next week.

These concerns follow a call by the IFA for urgent action on high levels of mental ill-health reported by farmers to the University College Dublin Agri Mental Health Group.

The IFA called for mental health services tailored for the farming community. 

For more, log onto criticalcharity.ie or call 021 4190999