Everyone is at risk of developing heart disease, stroke, diabetes, kidney disease and some forms of dementia. The good news is that these conditions can often be prevented, even if you have a family history of them. NHS Health Check can help you by assessing your risk of developing these health problems and giving you personalised advice on how to reduce it.

Who can have a check?

You are eligible for a NHS Health Check once every five years if you are between 40 and 74 years old and haven't already been diagnosed with vascular diseases or have certain risk factors such as high blood pressure or high cholesterol treated by medication.

We are gradually inviting all our eligible patients in for Health Checks, but this takes obviously takes time. If you receive an invitation, please don't ignore it - those 30 minutes may add years to your life.

In the meantime, if you would like a free NHS Health Check and have not had one in the last 5 years, you can speak to reception to organise one. Some pharmacies also offer NHS Health Checks

What happens at a check?

There are two parts to an NHS Health Check. First, you will be asked a few simple questions and have a few straightforward health tests. These will allow an assessment of your risk of developing four diseases: heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes and kidney disease.

The check is normally with one of our Health Care Assistants and takes around 20 to 30 minutes:

• You’ll be asked some simple questions about your family history, whether or not you smoke and how much alcohol you drink.
• Your height, weight, sex, ethnicity and age will be recorded.
• Your blood pressure will be taken.
• A simple blood test will check your cholesterol level.
• Your body mass index (BMI) will be calculated. BMI is a measure of whether you're a healthy weight for your height.

Wherever possible the blood tests will be done on the day of your health check. This means you will be given the results straightaway along with an explanation of what they mean. You will have the opportunity to ask for advice and support on maintaining good health and on lifestyle measures that can reduce the risk of developing health problems in the future.

Sometimes the blood needs to be sent to the laboratory for testing. This can happen if our machine is out of order or in some people identified as being at increased risk of having diabetes. In this instance, we will write to you with your individual results and advice. If you have questions you can book an appointment with the nurse or doctor.

If the health check identifies any problems, such as a high blood pressure or cholesterol level, an appointment with our nurse practitioner or doctor will be offered.