Health checks... at the checkout

Published on Saturday 22 December 2007 18:50

OVEN chips, microwave macaroni cheese, ice cream, a four-pack of lager... and a comprehensive health check please.

Supermarket chain Tesco has come up with the ultimate in one-stop shopping convenience by offering customers a 20 in-store health MOT.

Shoppers can park their calorie-crammed trolleys to undergo a battery of tests performed by the store's pharmacist, including blood pressure and cholesterol levels.

Customers who are overweight or suffering from other conditions will be offered "lifestyle advice" and discounts on the company's diet programme.

Tesco says the move is intended to ease the burden on GPs and make customers more aware of health issues. But health campaigners last night expressed concern that it was more to do with boosting sales.

It is estimated that half of UK adults are overweight while three-quarters-of-a-million are unaware they are suffering from diabetes.

Tesco's scheme is thought to be the first of its kind in the UK.

Philip Banks, Tesco's pharmacy services manager, said: "There are lots of people out there who do not know what is wrong with them. We hope that by doing this people can learn how healthy or unhealthy they actually are and start to do something to make a positive change in their life."

He added that it was Tesco's hope that the service would free up GP surgeries allowing doctors to spend more time on other patient issues.

The four-in-one, half-hour, health check will be offered at a discounted rate of 10 for the first three months. Customers' weight, blood pressure and cholesterol will be checked and a test for diabetes carried out.

The four steps are common checks which give an overall picture of a patient's wellbeing and risk of disease, and are similar to those performed free of charge in GPs' surgeries.

Banks continued: "We want to support our customers to try and help them make a difference. Understanding more about your health is vital to staying fit and well.

"The four checks which make up the service are key to identifying whether you may be at risk of developing health complications or conditions such as diabetes and heart disease in the future."

It is estimated that around 12% of men have never had their blood pressure checked while many people are completely unaware of their cholesterol levels.

Banks dismissed any concerns about risks of any patient's details falling into the wrong hands, adding: "Any customers having a check-up with Tesco will be provided with their own 'medical book' which they can take away with them.

"But if the pharmacist notices anything untoward with a patient, they will have the chance to discuss the issue with the pharmacist who may then suggest a visit to their own GP."

However, news of Tesco's announcement has not been universally warmly greeted.

Some patients' groups warned that customers were simply being "commercially exploited".

Dr Jean Turner, executive director of the Scotland Patients' Association criticised the scheme as "undermining" the NHS.

She said: "When a GP or a nurse does these checks they are also looking out for other things and can provide continuity of care, which we don't know about here. This is a commercial scheme and it undermines the NHS because it breaks that continuity of care."

Turner suggested Tesco might use the health checks to sell more of their products. "If this is just to sell their diets they have a lot to answer for," she said.

She added: "The problem with private medicine is that it hides what we really need to do to care for the population. I just think that money and medicine should never really mix."

The Tesco pharmacy service will be available at eight sites across Scotland including Galashiels, Edinburgh, Falkirk, Stirling, Greenock, Aberdeen and Inverness.

Supermarket sweep

The four-step, instore health check offered by Tesco includes:

&#149 Weight management – excess weight can result in high blood pressure and heighten the risk of heart problems. Comparing weight and height enables the pharmacist to establish your personal target.

&#149 Blood pressure – because this condition has no obvious outward symptoms, it is very hard to detect, but it can lead to a stroke or heart attack.

&#149 Diabetes screening – if left untreated this can lead to heart problems, blindness and kidney failure. However, early treatment greatly reduces the risks posed by the disease.

&#149 Cholesterol tests – one of the UK's major contributors to heart disease, which remains its biggest killer.