Community
8 October, 2025
Free assessments for farmers
FARMERS have the opportunity to get a free health assessment thanks to Timboon and District Healthcare Service’s AgriSafe clinician, nurse Camille Nicholls.
Anyone who works on a farm is able to access the free assessment, which covers a range of tests for health associated with work on the farm as well as general health.
“I do their weight, their height, cholesterol, blood sugar and then an agriculture chemical exposure called anticholinesterase,” she said.
“I can identify and help you with your PPE, like wearing gloves and masks and hearing protection and talk about farm safety.
“It’s capturing things like if your cholesterol is slightly elevated – ways to improve that, same with your blood sugar.
“I can capture areas in which you need referrals to a physio or a doctor.
“It gives you the tools to be able to go up to the doctor and say, This is what has come up in previous tests, can I get further investigation?”
The health check goes for 90 minutes, which Mrs Nicholls said she understood was a daunting prospect for many farmers.
“The 90 minutes does seem daunting for a lot of farmers, but I find once they come in and we unpack a lot, the 90 minutes goes by really fast,” she said.
“There’re risks involved with noise on the farm with chainsaws, dairies, motorbikes, and we talk about how to protect against that.
“We’re going to look at going out to farms to see whether that makes it easier to capture our farmers.
“We’ll see if that helps to do the health assessment there rather than making them come in.”
Mrs Nicholls said while most farmers are healthy, the assessment provided the opportunity to help farmers’ overall wellbeing and safety on-farm.
“A lot of farmers think they’re healthy, and they are, but there are a few little things that we’ve picked and it just nips it in the bud for their health and gives them ways to improve it,” she said.
“For instance, if they have high blood sugar, it’s just a matter of talking to them about their diet and altering that.
“Or having slips and trips on the farm, it’s talking to them about ways to reduce that risk so they don’t have further injuries.
“We’re just trying to break down the barriers between health professionals and farmers and accepting help.
“There’s still a bit of a stigma attached to accepting help, especially with mental health, so we’re trying to be a bit more open for them.”
To book an appointment, please contact the Timboon Clinic on 5559 6088.