How often should I have a health check?

Opinions vary as to how often you should have these but once a year is a common standard for older people. Those who keep well are obviously not going to need to see their health advisor as often as someone who has more complex health needs, so the first step is to see your health advisor and ask how frequently they advise you visit.

The government is making significant changes to our health system and part of this requires more collaboration across the various health disciplines and better use of a wider range of practitioners’ skills. While we have tended to think that the Doctor is the person we should see about our health, often that’s not necessary. Think how often your doctor has taken your blood pressure or has seen you just to order blood test. Other members of the team may be more suited to doing those tasks, freeing the doctor up to do the medically related consultations. Often it’s a practice nurse who should see you for such tasks and for regular check-ups (they will escalate any concerns up to your doctor if needed) and if it is more convenient then a telehealth check might be all that required.

A regular visit to your health professional allows them to monitor your health over time, pick up on any overlooked issues, and where possible address them and treat them. We can all fall into the trap of ignoring our ‘so called minor ailments’. The longer we live the more time we’ve got to accumulate health problems, some of which might have crept up on us and made themselves quite at home. Many older people consider some symptoms such as an increase in tiredness, foggy thinking, painful joints, or difficulty in managing tasks of daily living, to be just part of ageing. They may be more important than you think and may be treatable so it’s wise to have them checked out.

There is one other very good reason for a having a regular health check-up. It is beneficial if you are known to your local healthcare centre should you ever require more urgent health services in the future. It will make your life and theirs, so much easier.