‘Health MoT' With Your Jab

People getting Covid or flu jab top-ups will be offered a “health MoT” in a drive to save thousands of lives.

- Hanna Geissler

The extra tests, which include blood pressure, heart and cholesterol checks, will be available at vaccination centres, pharmacies and clinics.

Estimates suggest more than 1,000 strokes could be prevented every year if all over-65s were offered an annual heart rhythm check.

NHS chief operating officer Amanda Pritchard said yesterday: “The NHS is not just a sickness service but a health service, which is why we want to make every contact count, using every opportunity to keep people well, rather than just seeking to make them better.

“The hugely successful NHS vaccine programme has given us the opportunity by going out into communities to beat coronavirus, while also catching other killer conditions.”

Speaking at the NHS Confederation Conference, Ms Pritchard said the health checks would be ready when people came for top-up Covid or flu jabs.

Research suggests for every 5,000 patients offered heart checks at jab centres, 37 people with irregular rhythm could be diagnosed and one stroke prevented.

Pharmacists in England have already been piloting on-the-spot checks to identify those at risk of heart disease and stroke.

In Leeds, dentists are offering patients body mass index, blood pressure and heart rhythm tests to help spot early danger signs, all in a 20-minute window.

NHS clinical director for stroke Dr Deb Lowe said: “Incorporating health checks at vaccination sites so patients can access them conveniently is a great initiative.