The newly launched 10 Year Health Plan for England marks a major shift in focus — from treating illness to helping people stay healthy. In the North East and Yorkshire, services are working together to detect conditions earlier, tackle the root causes of poor health, and support people to live longer, healthier lives. By focusing on prevention, the NHS can improve outcomes for patients, reduce inequalities and ease pressure on hospitals.

In this region, one example of how NHS services are working to support wellbeing and prevent ill health is the SeaFit programme. A joint initiative of Humber Teaching NHS Foundation Trust, Seafarers Hospital Society and The Fishermen’s Mission, SeaFit aims to improve the health and wellbeing of fishermen and their families along the Yorkshire and North East coast.

Richard Beecroft (left) is the project’s Health and Improvement Practitioner at Humber Teaching NHS Foundation Trust and he works from a mobile consultation unit which visits harbours, from Withernsea to Hartlepool. Speaking at his latest harbourside location in East Yorkshire, he explained how SeaFit reaches out to fishermen and women and their families, with a patients’ ages ranging from children to retirees.

“Bridlington is a significant port for crab and lobster fishing so there are about 74 vessels going out from here alone – each vessel has around three fishermen, so you’re looking at nearly 200 fishermen who could access the SeaFit service,” Richard said. “Although not all of them will engage, over the past seven or eight years I’ve probably seen 150 of them, whether to provide a general health check, a wellbeing session or address a specific healthcare need.

“We reach out by being present at the harbour, having an open door policy at the consultation unit and talking to fishermen as they’re landing their catches. Through their busy lifestyle they can be quite isolated, find it difficult to attend medical appointments and so it takes time to build a rapport. We have evidence our flexible drop-in service helps to tackle these difficulties.

“As a group, fishermen are self-employed and if there are no crabs or lobsters that day they don’t get any income. They’ve got a boat to run and have responsibilities linked to agencies like the Marine and Coastguard Agency. All these factors mean mental health support is a key part of our service. Simply by asking how someone is feeling can prompt them to open up about their feelings in a private and confidential setting. After speaking with one fisherman, for example, I referred him to an NHS Talking Therapies service which offered him eight sessions.

“It’s highly rewarding to support people’s health and wellbeing and prevent a symptom like raised blood pressure from developing into a stroke or heart attack, or identifying that someone’s blood sugar level is elevated and advising them how through changes to their diet and activity levels they can prevent type 2 diabetes.”

A retired fisherman based at Bridlington, Michael Brown (right) runs sea-fishing tours from the busy East Yorkshire harbour. As an experienced seaman he understands how spending long periods at sea can make it difficult for fisherman to access NHS healthcare when they need it. “I think the SeaFit initiative has been a positive step in helping fishermen and their families overcome any barriers they might face in accessing NHS services,” Michael said. “Knowing that the SeaFit consultation van is parked regularly at the harbourside is reassuring to local fishermen and those based at other harbours along this coastline.”

Find out more about how NHS organisations are innovating healthcare delivery to help people stay healthy, in line with the 10 Year Health Plan by visiting the NHS North East and Yorkshire regional webpage.

• In this video, Health and Improvement Practitioner Richard Beecroft explains some of the health challenges faced by the fishing community and the wide range of healthcare and wellbeing support offered through the SeaFit programme.