Fellow's Profile
Harriet McCartney
Fellow's Profile
Harriet McCartney
No bull, just better health: how farmers are leading rural health change
Fellowship
- Themes
- Focus
-
Tackling health inequalities in UK farming communities.
- Countries
- Fellowship year
-
2026
- Supported by
- Locality
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North West
Contact
Biography
I am an occupational therapist and rural health advocate based in the North West, where I also keep a small flock of sheep. Living this lifestyle means I see the long hours and muddy, seasonal chaos first-hand. I love this community, but British farming is facing a silent health crisis. Our urban-centric health service simply wasn't built for a farmer's calendar, and a deeply ingrained culture of stoicism means farmers often avoid the doctor until a condition becomes critical.
The focus of my Fellowship is to tackle these health inequalities. I am heading to Australia and New Zealand to learn from grassroots initiatives like Farmstrong and Fat Farmers, and to Norway to study their Green Care model, which turns farms into state-contracted health hubs. I want to see how they take clinical support straight to farm gates and auction marts while keeping it trusted and free from judgement.
This learning will help me share practical tools and explore new ways to help UK healthcare staff develop a proper 'shed-side manner'. Ultimately, I want to find ways to make checking in on our health feel as normal as maintaining any other piece of farm machinery.
Disclaimer
All Reports are copyright © the author. The moral right of the author has been asserted. The views and opinions expressed by any Fellow are those of the Fellow and not of the Churchill Fellowship or its partners, which have no responsibility or liability for any part of them.
Disclaimer
All Reports are copyright © the author. The moral right of the author has been asserted. The views and opinions expressed by any Fellow are those of the Fellow and not of the Churchill Fellowship or its partners, which have no responsibility or liability for any part of them.
