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Off to a flying start
Page 24
Page 25
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The launch of the CM Health Challenge was a roaring success and brought truck drivers' issues to television screens across the country.
Louise Cole reports from the Nightowl truckstop in Wolverhampton.
It was still dark when theCM convoy rolled into the Nightowl truckstop at Wolverhampton and started organising teams of experts and the trailers we'd brought in for the Health Challenge launch and Sky TV's van was already waiting on the forecourt.
Even the earliest-rising truckers were still asleep when celebrity chef James Martin and his nutrition team starting concocting their healthy breakfast options.
While they cooked, the LA Fitness teamand the British Lung Foundation nurses moved into the custom-designed Iveco trailer to set up lung function equipment and movement analysis.
Diabetes nurse Annabel Norrie prepared to carry out glucose and cholesterol testing and film crews were setting up everywhere.
We all know how hard it is to get road transport industry issues into the mainstream media, but the CM campaign brought them out in droves. Sky TV carried live slots from the Wolverhampton truckstop all morning and a recorded 'package' to show during the rest of the day. The BBC sent two teams to cover the event for the Midlands, and ITV also filmed and talked to drivers about the campaign. Local newspapers and several radio stations were in touch with us and ran pieces on the life of the truck driver.
This was really important to CM for two reasons. First, we are concerned at the lack of healthcare provision for transport workers,and the health risks associated with high-stress sedentary jobs. Second, we want to use any and every opportunity to get the rest of the country talking about road transport, its importance, its difficulties, the skills and challenges involved in professional driving and the huge burden of responsibility to the UK economy and public safety that this industry bears.
On Tuesday 28 March TV news and radio shows all over the country were talking about road transport in one form or another so the campaign could hardly have had a better start.
As light broke the first truckers started to wander in. heading for break fast.All their usual options were available for the usual price but this time, courtesy of Iveco, a stunning feast of healthy alternatives was laid out for free. James Martin had cooked a wide variety of hot and cold options designed to appeal to all tastes and he wasn't disappointed. Very few turned down the opportunity to sample something new (see the menu, below).
We sat at many tables that morning chatting about the food, the difficulties of getting proper healthcare, how drivers care for themselves and how they deal with the stresses of the job. On the whole the younger guys were pretty switched on about health and took care of themselves as meticulously as they took care of their trucks. But there were one or two who clung to the stereotype as if their manhood depended on it ("Do you think we want to be healthy?" asked one,grinding out his fag. "1 like food too much." We later spotted his mate dragging him into the nurse's room for a check-up.) Overall, the responses were positive. Malcolm Jones, who drives for Alex Reid, commented: "As an older driver the physicals you have are thorough and it's a great feeling to walk out of there knowing the doe said you're all right. But between those it's really hard to get to the doctor. You've hit the nail on the head with this campaign."
Andre Putthaert, who was delivering beds for Halifax-based Dorlux, had a health check and told us: "This was a life-changing experience.To go to the doctor I'd have to book a day off work —and then the doctor often won't have time to give you real attention.
"At this event I became much more aware of the health issues and hada chance to go through and discuss them in detail." •