Free Health Testing For Sandwell Residents As Council Partner With Randox Health To Detect Early Warning Signs of Serious Illness
Free Health Testing For Sandwell Residents As Council Partner With Randox Health To Detect Early Warning Signs of Serious Illness
Sandwell Council partners with Randox Health to launch free health checks service
Sandwell Council initiative places prevention at the centre of healthcare
Thousands of eligible Sandwell residents are being offered diagnostic NHS Health Checks to detect any early signs of diabetes, heart and kidney disease and hypertension.
The early identification of individuals with the potential to develop these conditions will enable the NHS to intervene and, in many cases, prevent the onset of potentially life-changing and life-threatening illnesses.
In a pioneering initiative, the Sandwell tests and online self-assessment provision will be provided by a partnership comprising the council’s Healthy Sandwell team, the NHS and diagnostics company Randox Health – whose tests and clinics will be used to facilitate the innovative testing. Tests and clinics will be available for Sandwell residents in both Sandwell and, if convenient, in Birmingham.
The awarding of the contract to Randox Health to provide the tests follows an open tender process by Sandwell Council. The company has demonstrated success in providing 17 million PCR tests to NHS Test and Trace during the Covid-19 pandemic, helping prevent thousands of hospitalisations and deaths in the UK.
Free tests will be offered to Sandwell residents aged between 40 and 74 who have not previously suffered coronary heart disease, strokes, diabetes or kidney disease. Each will, in the next few weeks, begin receiving letters inviting them to the 20-minute NHS check, with branding from Randox, Healthy Sandwell and the NHS. The letter will include a link to the Randox website through which the tests can be booked.
Sandwell residents who have not yet received a GP letter and believe they are eligible can visit the Randox website https://nhshealthcheck.randox.com, take an eligibility check and then book their own appointment.
Tests will be carried out by specially trained staff at a number of community pop-up clinics in locations in Sandwell such as leisure centres and community spaces, aiming to reach those most at risk of having an undiagnosed serious illness.
Tests for Sandwell residents will also be available at Randox Health’s Birmingham Clinic (39-40 High Street, B4 7SL).
Test results will be made available to GPs for inclusion on patient medical records through Health Diagnostics Ltd, a third-party provider. Randox will hold none of the data from the test results.
Not only will the testing programme enable prevention and mitigation through the early identification of serious illness, it will also allow lifestyle modification on issues including smoking, alcohol and weight management.
Councillor Suzanne Hartwell, Sandwell Council’s Cabinet Member for Adults, Social Care & Health, said:
David Ferguson, Chief Operating Officer for Randox Health said:
Editors Notes
1. Sandwell Council
Sandwell Council will participate in the partnership through Healthy Sandwell, which is part of the council’s Public Health team. Healthy Sandwell provides a range of services to support local people to make positive lifestyle changes, such as quitting smoking or losing weight. Further information: https://www.healthysandwell.co.uk/
2. Randox Health
Established in 1982, Randox is the largest healthcare diagnostics company from the UK and Ireland.
Undertaking research, development, manufacture and distribution of innovative laboratory tests and analysers, Randox provides 15% of all worldwide cholesterol tests and 10% of all clinical chemistry tests. More than 5% of the world’s population (over 370 million people) receive medical diagnosis using Randox products each year.
Randox Health focuses on the provision of timely and accurate testing to identify risk to health, improve clinical diagnoses and promote preventative healthcare; aiming to achieve better healthcare outcomes whilst reducing the burden on clinical services.
In early 2020 Randox recognised the threat from COVID-19 and quickly developed a test to accurately identify the virus. Testing at scale commenced within weeks to support the UK’s National Testing Programme and private clients. Randox has processed more than 25 million gold-standard PCR tests for the National Testing Programme and private COVID testing for travel.
Randox Health is clear that better diagnostics are unquestionably critical to future improvements within healthcare and is committed to remaining at the forefront of that field.
Its growing network of High Street clinics now operate in 20 locations around the UK and Ireland, including Birmingham.
Celebrating a new era of healthcare at The Randox Health Healthcare Awards
The hard work and expertise of Northern Ireland’s leading Healthcare professionals was formally acknowledged at the Clandeboye Lodge Hotel on the evening of Thursday 4th February, where the glamorous black tie Randox Health Healthcare Awards took place.
Following on from the huge success of the inaugural Healthcare Awards last year, the event returned to the atmospheric hotel, for another evening of celebration and entertainment.
With a high calibre of Northern Ireland’s top businesses and organisations, including Ulster University, The South Eastern Trust, The Belfast Trust, Lloyds Pharmacy, Healthcare Ireland, Boots, Hutchinson Care Homes, Vision Express, and Danske Bank, turning out in their finest to enjoy a drinks reception and dinner, the evening saw those within the industry rewarded for their skills in the wider healthcare sector.
Categories announced and presented by the BBC’s Noel Thompson over the course of the evening included: Optometry Practice of the Year, Dental Practice of the Year, Pharmacist of the Year, The Innovation Award, Training in Healthcare Award, Clinical Excellence Award, Care Home of the Year, Community Nurse of the Year and GP Practice of the Year.
Popular comedian Josh Daniels performed on the evening after a fast-paced Live Charity Auction managed by City Auction Group. All proceeds from the event were donated to Marie Curie Cancer Care.
Katie Coyle, Manager of Randox Health who sponsored the event, said: “We are proud to be sponsoring The Healthcare Awards, and to therefore be able to simultaneously recognise the hard work of healthcare professionals across Northern Ireland, and raise funds for the very worthy cause of Marie Curie Cancer Care. At Randox Health we believe our personalised health check is at the forefront of a new era of healthcare, and we subsequently recognise this dedication and commitment to improving healthcare in our peers who attended last night’s event. Congratulations to everyone who won an award – we are delighted that we were able to share in your success. ”
The awards ceremony paid tribute to healthcare professionals, in both the private sector and across the NHS, who showcase excellence in day-to-day patient care, patient service, innovation, surgery facilities and after-care, and who strive towards improving the quality of healthcare and the health of the region.
The Nurse of the Year Award, recognising the hard work of nurses across Northern Ireland who provide an invaluable 24 hours a day service to patients, was won by Michelle Doggett, acknowledging her high standard of patient care and management to her patients.
Donna Hosking, Event Organiser of The Healthcare Awards, was extremely pleased with how the evening went and emphasised that the competition for each category was fierce: “We are thrilled to have teamed up with Randox Health for this year’s awards to recognise and reward best practice in the healthcare sector, within medicine, pharmacy, nursing, community care, dentistry and research. The awards are now in their second year and have attracted a wide range of applicants from healthcare practices, businesses and consultancies from across Northern Ireland – all of whom are extremely successful healthcare professionals, worthy of winning an award for their hard work and dedication to improving health in Northern Ireland. On behalf of everyone who was involved in The Randox Health Healthcare Awards I would like to congratulate all of our award winners, and thank all of our attendees for supporting the event. To all of our awards applicants I would like to say thank you for your hard work in your respective fields, and I hope you enjoyed the evening!”
