OVER 40's TO RECEIVE HEALTH SCREENING
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The Government is promising that everyone aged 40 to 74 in England will be offered health checks for heart disease, stroke, diabetes and kidney disease. Patients will be able to visit a practice nurse or healthcare assistant and have a blood test. They will then be given advice or any necessary preventative treatment. The Community and District Nursing Association has welcomed the scheme but expressed concern at the practicalities of offering this service. Practice Nurses are already over-stretched and it is essential that the necessary funding is in place to ensure this can work, for the benefit of patients, but not to the detriment of health staff.
As always the CDNA has pointed out that it is essential to reach those in our communities who are at the highest risk and who are often the hardest to reach. The Government predicts that offering health checks will save 2,000 lives a year and that those who have the health check will then receive a personal report, setting out their risk of getting the conditions and guidance on how to prevent them. This may include access to smoking cessation and weight loss programmes as well as other treatments. Pilots will be carried out by GP staff - including nurses - this autumn. The programme will roll-out across England from 2009.
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