Extensive private physical exam in the UK?

[elephanthawk]

Posting for traffic.
NC but been on here for years.

Does anyone know where I can get one in the uk? Are there reputable private clinics? And how much it might cost?
I'm awful at spotting anything wrong with myself, often brush symptoms off as just having an off day and have a v high pain threshold which has proven a bit detrimental a few times in the past. I'm also extremely busy with my job and rarely have time to arrange or make appointments.

I'd love to find a clinic and have a comprehensive health exam, bloods, scans and everything else done once or twice a year to keep on top of my health and potentially catch anything in the early stages. I'm happy to pay more to have it done at a trusted and reliable place.
I am aware some people think it might be OTT but it's probably the best method for my current lifestyle.

Is there any clinics or practices that offer the service or could anyone recommend where to look?

You can have a medical with a private GP. Comprehensive bloods etc. Look up health assessments with BUPA for example there are various types. It's not cheap though. It will be around £400/500 but depends how comprehensive you want to go.

I've thought about this before too, it seems like a good idea

As above, Google private health checks in your area. Or find somewhere that does the Well Woman check ups - those places usually have a range of packages you can choose from.

I had one through Bupa a few years back. It cost about a grand, I think, but an employer paid for it.

Great thank you. Not sure what to expect, my cousin who lives abroad in the EU told me she goes once a year and basically is in there for quite a few hours doing extensive bloods a full MRI scan and the works. They have found a tiny lump before that was too small for her to even notice and she had it removed as a precaution.
It gives her peace of mind and she said it also helps her tweak her diet if she ever gets told her iron levels or whatever it might be aren't where they ought to be.

Look up incidentaloma. Almost everything these examinations find is of dubious clinical significance and will involve you paying for further tests or causing you needless anxiety. The companies exist to make money. You don't say your age OP, but the NHS offers very highly regarded age-related screening programmes for actual significant disorders.

You don't say your age OP, but the NHS offers very highly regarded age-related screening programmes for actual significant disorders

My NHS surgery has a wait of several weeks for appointments, I've never seen the same GP twice, and when you do manage to see one you are told that you can only discuss one health problem.

Given that many seemingly unrelated symptoms can turn out to be related after all, and knowing several people who have died of cancer and other illnesses because their GPs failed to send them for appropriate tests before it was too late, the idea of a private consultation/health MOT makes a lot of sense.

These are certainly routine in Germany and Switzerland.

A lot of people have them with their medical insurance - paid for by their employer. Often they are annual. I've had six or seven of them but never with MRI scans etc. They are usually just full bloods (three pages of results), urine, smear, breast check, height, weight, blood pressure, sometimes ECG, and a good long chat.

If you don't mind me asking how do you find them @onedaysoonish ?
Are they helpful/useful?

I find them really helpful actually. You get a lot of time with the doctor so you can tell them all of your concerns no matter how minor. The blood and urine tests have brought up things for me like low vitamin D, and I was quite dehydrated once and that showed up and they told me I had the kidney function of someone much older so I had to go back three weeks later to do the test again - turned out to be dehydration but now I know I have to drink more water to try to get to the recommended amount even when I'm not thirsty etc! Also smears on the NHS are once every 3 years, I've had funny smears before so I like to do them every year as part of my medical.

My NHS aged 45 and over one was utterly useless. Was called in by the GP for it, so went as instructed. Was seen by the male practice nurse, who asked why I was there. Didn’t seem to like it when I said because I was told to. He tutted, gave me that ‘hysterical woman’ look you get sometimes from male medics, he took my blood pressure and then told me to leave. Pretty sure they should have done some bloods for cholesterol if nothing else? I was called in for another one recently, and haven’t bothered replying.

I keep meaning to book the BUPA one, but have just never gotten around to it. My friend used to get it as a freebie for work, and it was very useful, they picked up her thyroid problem.

Out of interest (sorry OP!) when are you supposed to be called for your first mammogram now? Is it still 50?

I have an annual check via my employer (in Spain) very similar to what @onedaysoonish describes. If there are any issues they tell me so I can follow up with my doctor. They also compare the results to the previous year and have given me a really good baseline of what is normal for me, as opposed to a generic normal range.

The NHS often has a wait and see approach and it has cost the lives of more than one person I know due to delayed cancer diagnosis.

I have previously used Preventicum. It’s a high one off cost (my insurance paid) but they do all the tests you can think of and give a very comprehensive report. No pressured follow on tests required- you just get a report and a final debrief with GP.

I trotted along to the Over 50s Health Check at the GP surgery. The nurse had a questionnaire and asked if I smoked, drank to excess, ate 5 a day, took any exercise. And that was it!! I could have been a raging alcoholic, drug addict and chain smoker and they would have been none the wiser. It was pointless (apart from completing their box ticking exercise and receiving some sort of payment no doubt).

Bil worked for a very wealthy family, and once a year the whole family flew by private jet to Houston - which apparently has the best doctors in the world - for full MOTs.

Where in the country are you? Most private providers do health screening, with different offers for men/women and different ages. They will usually add in extra tests (for a charge) according to your personal medical and family histories.

London has a big selection, but other areas will have some sort of screening offer.

The Bupa annual check is very useful if expensive. Many private Gp practices offer better value ones especially in London.

Watching with interest. My friend was invited for a check at our doctors last year when she turned 40. They weighed her, lectured her about her weight for 10 minutes then sent her on her way with no other checks or tests

I'm not keen to go through that so would be good to have another option!