NHS Health Checks

About the service

If you are between the ages of 40 and 74 you will receive a letter inviting you to have a health check, and if you feel perfectly healthy you may not see any point in making an appointment for this. The NHS provides for a health check once every 5 years.

The purpose of the Health Check is to help you stay healthy and prevent you developing illnesses like heart disease, stroke, diabetes and kidney disease.

The Health Check takes about 20 to 30 minutes and consists of some simple questions about your family history and any medication you are currently taking. We will also record your height, weight, age, sex and ethnicity and take your blood pressure and do a simple blood test to check your cholesterol level.

Information about health checks can be found on the NHS website