MPs have expressed deep concern about how isolation, poor public
transport and a relative lack of digital connectivity have
contributed to poor mental health outcomes for all categories of
people across rural communities in England, but especially among
farm workers and vets.
A report by the cross-party Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Committee calls for far greater joined-up planning and action
from the government to address the issue.
The study says relative poverty in rural areas can exacerbate
poor mental wellbeing and that rural workers including farmers
face particular stresses, including unpredictable weather and
animal health crises, as well as changing and uncertain
government policies which can affect their incomes as well as
their mental health.
Vets, who regularly deal with animal mortality, epidemics and
disturbing situations around TB testing, are especially affected
by stress. A survey in 2018 of British Veterinary Association
members found that 77% of those surveyed had been concerned about
a colleague or fellow student’s mental health and
wellbeing.
The report emphasises that the available picture of rural mental
health across England is incomplete, partly due to gaps in data
and partly due to under-reporting across government of rural
deprivation, which is inextricably linked to poor mental
well-being. This lack of detailed data, the Committee report
says, should be addressed across all the areas where it makes
recommendations for meaningful action.
However, the report says the data deficiency cannot hide a clear
pattern where rural communities’ needs are not fully reflected in
the mental health planning and services provided by the
Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC).
The report is critical of the Department for Environment, Food
and Rural Affairs (Defra), which conceded to the Committee that
the disparate, localised way mental health services were
delivered in rural areas made it “challenging” to “generate
useful insights”.
The report highlights evidence which indicates that agricultural
and veterinary workers have a higher-than-average suicide rate
when compared to the broader population. However, there is an
incomplete picture because of gaps in the data and a fuller
understanding of suicide in relation to these occupational groups
is needed.
Some of the key recommendations from the report are that:
· Defra and DHSC should
establish a new joint rural mental health policy and delivery
team to improve access to and outcomes for rural mental health
services;
· Defra should take a more
active role in national suicide prevention policy, with
agricultural and veterinary workers being recognized as high
priorities for action, and UK Government funding for local
authority suicide prevention work needs to be ringfenced;
· The government should
relieve intense pressure on the delivery of NHS Child and
Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) by expanding preventive
mental health support into all schools and colleges in rural
areas, and by supporting Early Support Hubs;
· Defra and DHSC should
upgrade local preparedness for the mental health impacts of
extreme events such as flooding and animal health
crises;
· The Government should fund
and roll out mental health first aid training aimed at creating a
critical mass of front-line personnel dealing with farmers and
those working and living in rural industries and areas;
· Defra should explore how
farm workers and vets could take more time off work when they
need it – by for example encouraging sickness insurance schemes;
and
· Defra, DHSC, the NHS and
the Department for Transport should set out rural transport
policies that provide rural communities with access to health
services that is as good as the access urban communities
enjoy.
The Chair of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee,
Sir said:
“Rural communities face a unique set of challenges. High on
the list are limited access to mental health services, poor
public transport and unpredictable crises like animal
diseases.
“All this has an inevitable toll on peoples’ mental health –
and yet the mental health services people in rural areas can
access are few and far between
“Rural mental health needs to be a top priority for Defra –
and the Department should take the lead on this report’s
recommendations for much more joined-up action across
government.”