TOO LITTLE TOO LATE (AS USUAL)

The Dept of half arsed ideas (DOH) has decided it’s time to instigate “NHS Health Checks, which could prevent 1600 heart attacks and strokes each year and help save 650 lives will begin from April this year, announced Health Secretary Alan Johnson today.” News Distribution Service

Everyone aged between 40-74 in England will begin to be invited for a free health check as part of a national programme to identify their risk of diseases such as coronary heart disease, stroke, diabetes and kidney disease.

The programme is an essential tool in tackling health inequalities across the country.

The health checks are part of a drive to ensure that people from this age group have the necessary information about their health in order to make important lifestyle changes and reduce their risks of developing diseases like diabetes and coronary heart disease.

These illnesses currently affect the lives of 4 million people in England and are responsible for a fifth of all hospital admissions.

The checks are part of the drive towards a more preventative NHS.
The health checks will consist of:

Straightforward questions to patients on their health and diet, exercise habits and family medical history

* Height and weight measurements taken from patients * A simple blood test for cholesterol and in some cases for glucose levels * A follow up, personal assessment setting out the individual's level of risk and what they can do to reduce this * Recommendations of what could be done to reduce risk including: weight management programmes, stop smoking, physical activity programmes


The Health Secretary also announced the start of two further groundbreaking measures - the abolition of prescription charges for cancer patients and the start of MRSA screening for elective patients.

April 1 is also the date when the abolition of NHS prescription charges for everyone undergoing treatment for cancer, the effects of cancer, or the effects of cancer treatment, will also come in to effect. Up to 150,000 patients already diagnosed with cancer are expected to benefit, saving them £100 or more each year in prescription charges.

The Jobbing Doctor explains it from a GPs point of view here, what it will mean to patients is more trips to the GP surgery, more work for GPs and not a lot of difference to the healthcare we receive.



“The trouble with always trying to preserve the health of the body is that it is so difficult to do without destroying the health of the mind.” - G.K. Chesterton

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