Over 5,000 Reading Residents Receive Free Health Checks

Over 5,000 Reading residents have taken advantage of free health checks in Broad Street Mall and other community settings, thanks to a Council-led Community Wellness Outreach project. The project, which welcomed 5,203 visitors via walk-in and booked appointments, demonstrated the value of taking health and wellbeing support directly into the community.

The project, funded by the Integrated Care Board, was delivered jointly by the Meet PEET service of Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust and Reading Voluntary Action to provide a holistic health check and wellbeing support through outreach into the community. Residents were alerted to a variety of health issues, including high blood pressure, high BMI (body mass index), high blood glucose, and high cholesterol – all issues that can cause problems if left untreated but which can be alleviated once identified.

The health checks also allowed a range of other additional wellbeing support to be offered, including signposting visitors on to GPs and health behaviour change support to ensure the checks led to ongoing benefits, including a successful “Give It A Go” programme to support and encourage participants to try different types of exercise.

Rachel Eden, Reading Borough Council’s Lead Councillor for Education and Public Health, said: “I’m really pleased that this project has managed to help over 5,000 people access vital information on their health, which many would have been unaware of, and to help them take action or make necessary changes.

Residents can access advice or obtain future check-ups by contacting local health services. Rachel Eden added: “It is important to ensure residents take steps to look after themselves and get the reassurance or advice they need. The best way to do this is via an NHS Health Check and blood pressure checks, so please do take the time to get yourself checked. It can provide great peace of mind and may alert you to something underlying that you can take immediate action on”.

Source: Reading Borough Council