Retirement health checks launched

People approaching retirement are rarely targeted by the NHS.

The idea of free health checks for people entering retirement is being tested in three pilot schemes starting next week.

The government is trialling the checks as a possible way of picking up serious illnesses before they progress, saving the patient from suffering - and saving the NHS money.

It is also hoped that people leaving the workforce could benefit from healthy living advice.

The announcement comes hot on the heels of the publication of the government's National Service Framework for Older People, which sets guidelines for the standard of care elderly patients should expect.

We need to move away from the idea that the health service for older people is just about treatment

Yvette Cooper, public health minister

The three pilot schemes, in North Notts, Hull and East Riding, and Sandwell in the West Midlands, are expected to run for the next two years.

People aged 50 to 65 who are approaching, or just past retirement and who do not have access to pre-retirement help from their employers will qualify.

The schemes are expected to cost approximately £800,000 over the next 24 months.

Public health minister Yvette Cooper said: "We need to move away from the idea that the health service for older people is just about treatment and ensure that the NHS is providing advice and help to prevent people becoming ill in the first place.

"These health checks will give older people the chance to stay fitter and healthier for longer and plan for a healthy retirement."

Research by the Department of Health showed that people approaching retirement are rarely targeted by the NHS.

The tests offered could include blood pressure checks, fitness tests, and monitoring of immunisation status and participation in screening programmes.

There is potential for the schemes to save the NHS money because conditions such as high blood pressure can contribute to the development of heart disease, a condition which the NHS spends many millions treating every year.