1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
145
146
147
148
149
150
151
152
153
154
155
156
157
158
159
160
161
162
163
164
165
166
167
168
169
170
171
172
173
174
175
176
177
178
179
180
181
182
183
184
185
186
187
188 
Caroline Flint MP Minister of State for Public Health 25.5.06
Page 30
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
Dear Ms Flint Following your kind support for the Commercial Motor Health Challenge !would like to draw your attention to some of the conclusions we have reached in the first two months of the campaign.
As you are aware, we have held free health checks for transport workers at the three major trade shows and at our campaign launch at Wolverhampton truckstop. We provided a specialist diabetic nurse, a team from the British Lung Foundation and fitness/postural experts. Weight, blood pressure, body mass index and cholesterol were all measured and discussed.
In all, our team saw over 400 men, mainly truck drivers, during this stint of the campaign. Many of them asked us if we could extend our medical checks into a roadshow around the UK. They emphasised that they have little opportunity to attend GP surgeries and equally little opportunity for comprehensive health checks and discussion when they do make appointments.
Commercial Motor is committed to producing guides for truck drivers which help them to effectively use primary healthcare when mobile and we will continue to support and educate our marketplace.
However, the government could make a huge impact on public health and enhance commercial productivity by following its successful walk-in centre model and establishing health centres at major truckstops and container ports.
We are all aware of working men's reluctance to go out of their way to seek medical help; we have been told by countless subjects, however, that taking healthcare to them is an inspired idea. One man told us: It was a life-changing experience." Our nurses suspected that for many others it could prove a life-saving one.
Please consider our proposals for more accessible healthcare provision for transport workers. We would be grateful for a response that we can publish to inform our readers of the government's interest.
Yours sincerely
,LutA__.cz
Louise Cole Deputy editor