The initiative is developed and delivered by Public Health Services together with Guernsey Chest and Heart, and involves free checks on blood pressure, blood lipids, including cholesterol, as well as heartbeat and blood sugar.
‘We’re really excited to launch this new programme – the reason why we’re so interested in doing this is that we know that 26% of deaths in the Bailiwick are caused by a disease of the circulatory system, so second only to cancer,’ said director of Public Health Dr Nicola Brink.
‘The risk factors – the high blood pressure, high cholesterol – people don’t know they’ve got them, so detecting them early before they actually cause problems is really important because it will enable people to live healthier lives.’
The programme has been named ABCD – an acronym standing for atrial fibrillation, blood pressure, cholesterol and diabetes – as these four factors are considered to be the primary risks associated with cardiovascular disease.
A pilot of the ABCD programme was launched last year, involving 265 participants and revealing that a quarter of them had high blood pressure, and 40% had high cholesterol.
Now, the programme will be launched in full next week, and will be open to all between the ages of 25 and 70.
‘I think the fundamental difference between this programme and the work we normally do within the charity is that you don’t need to be registered with your GP to undertake the programme,’ said Caroline Ogier, manager of the Guernsey Chest and Heart Centre.
‘We can signpost whether you need to see a GP and encourage you to register, but it means that people who wouldn’t ordinarily access health services can have a health check-up.’
The two organisations’ pilot programme also showed that more than one in 20 islanders was not registered with a GP, and a quarter haven’t seen their GP in over a year.
The ABCD programme will not only not require a GP referral, but it will not even require a trip to a doctor’s office, pharmacy or hospital, as Public Health and Guernsey Chest and Heart will be bringing the programme out into the community with pop-up clinics.
‘We’ll be running regular drop-in clinics within the community such as at Guille-Alles Library and Norman Piette,’ Miss Ogier said.
‘Our aim is really just to get islanders to live longer, healthier lives.’
The first clinics will be open at the library and the hospital, on Thursday 2 April and Tuesday 7 April respectively.
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