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Original poster

To think the NHS Health Check (for over 40s) can be done at home?

87 replies

Usedphone · 03/12/2024 12:03

I just had that health check done and it was a total waste of time!

The nurse told me that my BMI would skew everything (and that it was due to my muscle mass), she just ticked some boxes, added some data, took my blood pressure and then told me I was low risk and that I should ignore the other advice.

She was also surprised when I told her I was not white! (Which I'm.not but I know I can be white passing).

It would have been quicker to just go in, take my booo pressure and do the rest from my phone. Would have had exactly the same result, and no waste of resources!

OP posts:
Karatema · 03/12/2024 13:29

I'm 65 and going for my first one this afternoon! Never been suggested before. My DH has had one every year for, at least, 10 years.

fridaynight1 · 03/12/2024 13:26

Also 60 and never been asked.

gelsion · 03/12/2024 13:20

I've had invites since I was 40 but never made an appointment. But I need an annual blood test and the nurse just quickly did BP and weight while I was there, so she could tick that box. A BP monitor costs under £20 so it's easy enough to do at home, and most people have scales. I've never been concerned about BP though as mine has always tended to be lower than average.
It would be more worthwhile if they did a full set of bloods like a pp gets.

SharpOpalNewt · 03/12/2024 13:13

I found it a bit useless TBH. It did tell me I had zero chance of having a heart problem in the next ten years though- I thought zero was quite bold but it gave me some comfort. I had it done when I was about 42. They sent me a reminder for another one last year (I'm 49 now) but I had full bloods done a couple of years ago and everything was normal, plus my BP tends to be on the low side and I have a monitor at home anyway, and I weigh myself regularly.

I'm going to make a private appointment after I turn 50 for menopause/HRT stuff and will get a full MOT then.

Sayoonara · 03/12/2024 13:03

I had one when I was about 43. I was grateful for mine as she suggested I might need HRT, which I hadn't considered at all at that age (but did need).

Original poster
Usedphone · 03/12/2024 13:02

DecayingRelic · 03/12/2024 13:00

I had full bloods done at mine, thyroid, bone, liver, renal, cholesterol, blood sugar, etc

also weighed, measured and blood pressure done and asked lifestyle questions.

Nope I didn't get any of that!!

OP posts:
DecayingRelic · 03/12/2024 13:00

I had full bloods done at mine, thyroid, bone, liver, renal, cholesterol, blood sugar, etc

also weighed, measured and blood pressure done and asked lifestyle questions.

Tryingtomakeitthroughtheweek · 03/12/2024 12:56

fivebyfivebuffy · 03/12/2024 12:10

Are you meant to get invited to one? I'm nearly 41 and never had any check

They are behind in our area, DH has only just had his invite and he's 44

BenditlikeBridget · 03/12/2024 12:49

I’m late forties and never heard of this!

Ginmonkeyagain · 03/12/2024 12:48

I got invited to my first one last week - I'm 46!

Annoyingly the receptionist forgot to book in a blood test so that still has to be done and aparently I need to go to the hospital to get it done. I have a form to book it but have been too busy. I also felt rushed and there was no real time or opening to express any wider concerns about your health.

I get a much more thorough one yearly with a private provider (paid for by at work) - with blood and urine tests and female speciifc checks (breast exam, pelvic exam etc..) so the only reason I did this is I have a bee in my bonnet about how crap the NHS is at preventative medicine. Hasn't changed my view.

Itdoesntendwellatall · 03/12/2024 12:48

cardibach · 03/12/2024 12:11

I’m 60 and yet to be invited for one…

I'm late 50s and I've not had one either. I'm on medication that increases cholesterol. I also have a progressive neurological condition and asthma.

It might be because I'm a "difficult patient" (on my notes). I never realised asking for a referral for a second opinion as the doctor told me HRT was only for women wanting to attract younger men/menopause only lasts 2 years would make me so.

I was told NO to a cholesterol test as my DP's is fine.

I'm not holding my breath for an invite any time soon.

OriginalUsername2 · 03/12/2024 12:46

fivebyfivebuffy · 03/12/2024 12:10

Are you meant to get invited to one? I'm nearly 41 and never had any check

I got an invite to book one on my 40th birthday saying “If you’re between 40 and 70”… Way to make me feel old!

Original poster
Usedphone · 03/12/2024 12:44

Balletdreamer · 03/12/2024 12:39

Didn’t you get a blood test? I had one and tbh is the only reason I went and as you point out the rest can be done at home. I was also called to come in for the results, which was a bit alarming, only to get there and be told everything was good. Bizarre waste of time….

No, not recently anyway. I had some done in the summer.

OP posts:
Balletdreamer · 03/12/2024 12:42

Also I wasn’t invited. My DH was, so that’s how I knew about it. I had to contact them to arrange and wouldn’t have known if not for Dh being invited (same surgery). Maybe they prioritise men? Plus I think it’s every five years after 40 I think.

Cynic17 · 03/12/2024 12:41

These things are for the "worried well", IMO. Easier just to opt out completely.

MrsPringledusts · 03/12/2024 12:41

I was 60 when I was asked for my first check, and it was pointless. When the question "Do you drink?" was asked, I replied "funnily enough I had a sherry the other night" - She fell on that like a starving dog on a bone "aha! so you do drink!" - she was obsessed with a glass of sherry for the first time in years, at a wedding, and I couldn't get it through to her. That was all it was! So, a waste of time

augustusglupe · 03/12/2024 12:39

cardibach · 03/12/2024 12:11

I’m 60 and yet to be invited for one…

Me too 🤷🏻‍♀️

Balletdreamer · 03/12/2024 12:39

Didn’t you get a blood test? I had one and tbh is the only reason I went and as you point out the rest can be done at home. I was also called to come in for the results, which was a bit alarming, only to get there and be told everything was good. Bizarre waste of time….

Original poster
Usedphone · 03/12/2024 12:36

TheYearOfSmallThings · 03/12/2024 12:31

I bet they asked you what birth control you use, and whether you want a Mirena coil though, because there is a box for that .

Edited
Show quote history

Nope, they didn't!! I have no BC as my DH had the snip

OP posts:
TheYearOfSmallThings · 03/12/2024 12:31

Usedphone · 03/12/2024 12:24

Yes, that's what it felt like to me. I thought they would mention the perimenopause or something but nothing.

Show quote history

I bet they asked you what birth control you use, and whether you want a Mirena coil though, because there is a box for that .

Original poster
Usedphone · 03/12/2024 12:30

Printedword · 03/12/2024 12:28

OP you are very lucky to have a decent GP surgery with appointments like that. We have the farce of phone appointments for asthma check ups. When my elderly parents needed a home visit they sent the jet team not a GP. Hopeless

My DH has phone asthma check-ups. From what I could gather this a joint Council/Trust thing.

OP posts:
Printedword · 03/12/2024 12:28

OP you are very lucky to have a decent GP surgery with appointments like that. We have the farce of phone appointments for asthma check ups. When my elderly parents needed a home visit they sent the jet team not a GP. Hopeless

RedPony1 · 03/12/2024 12:27

i keep getting texts from my surgery but i'm not interested. i cant get an appointment for what i actually want so i'm not taking time off work for a basic health check

TheLimeHedgehog · 03/12/2024 12:24

When they arranged mine, I had a blood test and I discovered I have hypothyroidism an underactive thyroid.

Well worth going to check and certainly not a box ticking exercise.

Original poster
Usedphone · 03/12/2024 12:24

TheYearOfSmallThings · 03/12/2024 12:16

It is literally just a box ticking exercise to meet a target, and they can also use it to encourage you to lose weight (box ticked) stop smoking (box ticked) and get a smear test (box ticked). Our 40+ test doesn't include a cholesterol check, and any woman on birth control has to get her BP checked (probably at the pharmacy) anyway.

In fairness research shows that having a doctor tell you to stop smoking results in a better quit rate than nothing. I'm just not sure a bored nurse with a checklist of extremely basic questions will have the same effect, and it continues to bug me that surgeries have endless resources for all the stuff we are not asking for, but no GP appointments ever.

Yes, that's what it felt like to me. I thought they would mention the perimenopause or something but nothing.

OP posts: