NHS to offer ‘health MoT’

Voluntary health checks, offered at five key points in a person’s life will form part of a government white paper on health due out today.

Dubbed the ‘health MoT’, the checks will be offered in a bid to identify those people who are at risk of developing serious illnesses and will offer the service of personal trainers for at risk patients to help them change their lifestyle.

The NHS life check will be offered at birth, at age 11, age 18, after the birth of the first child and when a person reaches the age of 50. They will incorporate blood tests, blood pressure, weight and a questionnaire on the patient’s lifestyle.

“It will look at your lifestyle and the medical history of your family. It will examine your diet, smoking habits and weight,” said health secretary Patricia Hewitt, speaking to the Daily Telegraph.

“If you are high-risk, there will be a follow-up. You will get a health trainer.”

Health trainers allocated to high risk patients, will not be available “an hour a week on the NHS” but will be available to help change diets and exercise habits. They will work out a program for the patient and keep in regular contact.

Pre-empting accusations of a nanny state, the health secretary said that the service was the number one request from a citizen’s summit in Birmingham last year, with research showing that people think the NHS should focus on prevention as well as cure.

“People were saying we want to stay healthy and independent as long as possible but we need the NHS to show us how,” Miss Hewitt told the newspaper.

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