In this blog post, Yorkshire Rural Support Network Coordinator Fiona Macdonald explains why the Network is offering First Aid training for farmers in Yorkshire this month.
It is a sobering statistic that, even though farming accounting for one per cent of the working population, it accounts for 18 per cent of all workplace deaths.
A total of 22 farm workers lost their lives on British farms over the past year.
Farming and forestry remain the most dangerous professions in the UK.
Despite a blaze of important awareness raising campaigns, as an industry, we still seem to be losing good farming people.
No room for complacency
There are inherent dangers on farms, from working at height to perform maintenance tasks to buildings, working with high-powered machinery and vehicles, operating within proximity of overhead powerlines, and working at close quarters with unpredictable livestock.
Clearly, farm safety is something we shouldn’t take lightly.
The Yellow Wellies website is a great resource for safety advice, and preventative measures are vital.
At the same time, it is so important that we know what to do if a family member, colleague or farm visitor suffers an injury.
Indeed, refreshing your first aid knowledge, might just be the difference between life or death should an unexpected accident happen to you or someone else on-farm.
First Aid training for farmers
Faming wellbeing is a key priority of the Yorkshire Rural Support Network at the Yorkshire Agricultural Society, and so we have teamed up with another of our networks, the Yorkshire Food, Farming and Rural Network and partners F3A and H&H Insurance Brokers to offer first aid training to members of farming families at a heavily discounted rate this month.
Two half-day First Aid for Farmers training sessions are offered at Skipton Auction Mart on Thursday 25th May and there is still time to book a place.
The first session is between 9am-12.30pm, and an afternoon session will run 1.30pm-5pm.
We recognise that the cost of training, not least in the current economic climate, can be prohibitive, and that’s why we are offering places at £20 plus a £2.38 booking fee.
Normally, this training costs £100 plus VAT.
These courses are tailor-made for people working in farming, forestry, and rural sports, covering life-saving skills such as patient assessment and CPR, scenario training around common farm accidents, and how to use a bespoke F3A first aid kit, developed for the industry.
