Serving the rural community

The Derek Mead Health Room was opened officially by HRH The Princess Royal on 15 October 2019 in memory of Derek Mead who built Sedgemoor Auction Centre as a facility for farmers to have free trade for their livestock. Derek believed if you could not trade freely you would not be in control of ‘fair market prices’ and Sedgemoor Auction Centre certainly allows for farmers to trade in normal market conditions.

Katherine Hawke and Alistair Mead opened this Health Room in memory of their late father Derek Mead. It is a perfect legacy for a man who had the vision and foresight in his industry to be ahead of the game. Derek was also a man who did not mince his words and for this reason he was an impressive ambassador for our farming industry. He is greatly missed not just by his close family but many people in the wider farming community and the Somerset community he served.

The Health Room is open every Second and Fourth Saturday at Sedgemoor Auction Centre and is your gateway to better health . It is open to all farmers, farm workers and country folk from any area of the UK.

We are very proud to say that the health room works collaboratively with the NHS providing a much needed service from Sedgemoor Auction Centre. An NHS a nurse and receptionist are on hand to carry out essential health checks such as blood pressure monitoring and blood sugar testing, whilst also offering support for general wellbeing and is more importantly someone to talk to. If further medical help is needed the professional team can assist and make contact with the correct and most beneficial medical journey for each of its visitors. Best of all, the health room is situated in an environment that allows farmers and country folk to still wear their wellington boots and feel comfortable in a market environment that they visit on a regular basis.

The Derek Mead Health Room is operated
by the Derek Mead Health Trust.

The object of the CIO is for the public benefit, to preserve and protect good physical and mental health of:

• Farmers and farm workers • Rural communities • Truck drivers
• Individuals connected with the Sedgemoor Auction Centre
• Other individuals connected with the wider agricultural sector in the United Kingdom

The CIO pursues its object, but not exclusively, by:

a) Awareness and stigma reduction
Increasing awareness of health‑related issues and reducing stigma associated with mental ill‑health.

b) Access to support
Providing access to advice, information, guidance, counselling, and other appropriate forms of support.

c) Signposting and referrals
Facilitating signposting and referrals to appropriate healthcare services and community resources.

The Derek Mead Health Trust • Legal Status: Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO) foundation model.
Charity Number: 1217657 • Date Of Constitution:13 April 2026

HRH The Princess Royal unveiling the memorial plaque with Katherine Hawke and Alistair Mead