Free Health & Wellbeing checks for Carers

Are you a carer? Do you care for a family member or friend? Carers often tell us that they put the health of the person they care for before their own. We know that if you are busy looking after someone, balancing that with all your other commitments to family and work, it can be difficult to take time to think about your own health and wellbeing.

Bideford Medical Centre have obtained special funding from the Department of Health that allows us to offer Free Health Checks for a limited period to our patients who provide care for others. Neither you, nor the person you care for needs to be receiving "carers' allowance" to be considered a carer. A carer is anyone who, without payment, provides support to a family member, friend or neighbour who could not manage without their help.
The checks are completely free and the carer will spend approximately one hour with a suitably qualified and trained person considering a broad range of health and wellbeing issues. For those who will benefit, a vascular check will be included which will screen for risks related to heart disease, stroke and diabetes, for example blood pressure, cholesterol and blood sugar.

Also, if you need someone to look after the person you care for while you are having the check we can arrange this and claim back the cost of the alternative care arrangements for up to 2 hours, subject to agreed limits.

On making an appointment, you will be given an attractive booklet which takes you through all aspects of your health and wellbeing which you are encouraged to think about before bringing it with you to the check. This is your personal record and is yours to keep. No-one will tell you what to do as a result of any health issues that are found. Instead, you will be helped to decide your goals and where you can find the support you might need to reach them.

Sections include:

Safety and warmth at home
Living and caring safely at home
Your own health & healthcare
Work, education and training
Healthy lifestyle
Caring tasks

Some of the many benefits are:

re-assurance for the carer, and person they care for
an opportunity to pick up on any early signs of ill health
time for the carer to think about themselves and their own health
a chance to access any necessary advice or treatment at an early stage, possibly avoiding more serious problems in future.

If you would like to book a Health and Wellbeing check or are interested in further information please contact our Reception on 01237 476 363

Carers info leaflet (pdf format)