Dr Jenny Deville, Dr John Wynn-Jones
The European agricultural workforce has been in steady decline over the last 10 years. Considerable evidence and concern has been expressed in the United Kingdom concerning the physical and mental health of the farming community. The rural economic decline experienced across the developed world has been exacerbated in the UK by the BSE (Bovine Spongiform Encephalatitis) and the Foot and Mouth Epidemics. Foot and Mouth has resulted in a paralysation of the rural economy and considerable hardship amongst the farming community, support industries and the tourist industry. The Institute of Rural Health has carried out a scoping study and a Health Impact Assessment for the National Assembly of Wales. The presentation will outline some of the results of this work, describing the impact of the epidemic on the health and well being of the farming and rural communities and the statutory and voluntary support agencies. The paper will go on to discuss the health implications and consider the way voluntary and statutory services have responded. Reference will be made to the use of Health Impact Assessments and their benefit in understanding past and current events and anticipating future health care crises in rural health. Finally, reference will be made to the different perceptions of the crisis amongst urban and rural communities and the implications for allocation of resources and the development of equitable and fair national strategies.