By Melissa Blewitt

The Rotary Clubs of NSW Men’s Health Education Rural Van (mherv) visited Condobolin to offer local men and women a free health check recently.
The Men’s Health Education Rural Van is a regional project is undertaken by Rotary Clubs throughout NSW, with coordination by the Rotary Club of Warners Bay. It is also generously supported by the NSW Government, NSW Health and Electrodry.
It set up at Renown Park over two days – Friday, 1 My and Saturday, 2 May.
mherv has been saving lives across rural Australia since 2017.
A custom built caravan with a dedicated Registered Nurse travels the state of NSW offering free health screenings to regional and rural men and women, who are notorious for following the “If it ain’t broke, why fix it?” mantra.
The Van is set up for offering free of charge health screening services for Blood Pressure, Cholestoral and Diabetes, and provides immediate results, helping to improve health outcomes for men and women.
“A core-team of seven Rotarians, each with appropriate expertise is managing the project. One is a retired Registered Nurse. She oversees the testing procedures, purchases the medical supplies and collects statistical data. Two team members are devoted to tour planning and club liaison. Others supervise the production of marketing resources like posters to be displayed in pubs and other public places,” www.mherv.com.au explains. The Rotary Club of Warners Bay manages the mherv project
Since 2017 mherv has been out in regional NSW on two scheduled tours per year seeking out those who haven’t seen the inside of a doctor’s rooms for years.
A health check in mherv only takes 10 minutes and could save a life, according to the Rotary Clubs of NSW.
A total of 20,500 people have been tested by the mherv project since 2017. Of those, 8,100 were found to need treatment, and a total of 615 were found to be in immediate danger of a stroke or heart attack.
“For most, there is no culture to see their doctor for a regular check-up. Indeed it could be said that many men are afraid to do so in case they are told something they wouldn’t like to hear,” www.mherv.com.au said.
“Consequently, conditions like high blood pressure, high cholesterol and high blood sugar which have little or no apparent symptoms, can build up and lead to sudden unexpected death or long-term incapacity.
“Tests may show no reason for concern, or at the other end of the scale it may be recommended that immediate medical attention be sought for treatment that would bring the condition under control … probably saving a life!”
In 2008, Rotarian Tony Mackenzie began discussions with the General Manager of Western District Hospital in Mudgee, Joy Adams, about the incidence of late presenting, poor health events among rural men.
It was decided to try to screen middle aged and older men in NSW rural communities to see if simple tests could identify men’s health issues earlier, thereby bringing them to a doctor before otherwise treatable conditions became too serious.
With Joy’s help and that of Registered Nurse Andrew Whale, Rotary began by borrowing an old caravan, which they took to towns in the western districts of NSW. Eight towns were sampled including Narromine, Cobar, Bourke and Nyngan.
They discovered that many preferred their tests to be anonymous, so the registration form only asked for their first name and their telephone number. In the old caravan ‘clients’ could be seen through the window; drawn curtains prevented that when it was realised that too many passers-by in a country town would recognise people in the van.
In 2013 it was decided to commission a strong, purpose-built caravan to continue the work. It has two consulting rooms which have no windows so was completely confidential. At this time a single person was not dedicated to the role, so there was little flexibility.
In 2016, Steve Jackson, District Governor of Rotary District 9670 – 2016/17, was keen to see that the project didn’t quietly fade away. He wanted to set the project up sustainably. Steve recruited Rotarian Adrian Payne from The Rotary Club of Warners Bay to come up with a plan.
On the 24 August 2017, mherv headed out into the western districts of NSW. And after a Christmas/New Year break, visited closer coastal regions of the state, concluding the first tour in May 2018 in Wellington. These tours continue today.