Men to be targeted in workplace for health checks

Men will now be the focus of workplace health checks amid concern that too many refuse to see a doctor.

The health service is launching pilot schemes to bring blood pressure tests, and checks on weight and lifestyle into offices, building sites and other workplaces.

Maria Caulfield, the health minister, said a pilot scheme for 150,000 people was now getting under way – and could prove “the way forward” in persuading men to look after their health.

She said the test sites would focus on “male-dominated places like construction sites” with the idea to “bring healthcare to them”.

She told the Commons health and social care committee inquiry on men’s health that they often had a “nervousness” about coming forward for checks, with future strategies likely to focus on bringing tests to a “captive audience”.

Men were more likely to undergo checks if they were offered early reassurance that action could be taken to reduce their risks, she said.

The pilot scheme focusing on heart health is currently being rolled out across the country and will complete by next March.

Ms Caulfield suggested the approach could be expanded nationally, if it succeeds.

‘It’s certainly the way forward’

She told MPs: “I think there’s some really exciting work happening in this space, in the workplace in particular.

“I think we’ll be looking at the outcomes of those workplace checks, and if they’re successful, I think it’s certainly the way forward.

“A lot of men are self-employed, for example. So taking time off work can cost them money and unless they can see a benefit right now of doing that, you know, telling them about their heart attack or stroke risk in 15 years – they are trying to pay the bills today and that is a priority.

“So that is why we’ve got cardiovascular disease health checks happening in the workplace and my understanding is that they are being slightly directed towards more male-dominated places like construction sites, because the uptake in men is lower.

“And the aim is for 150,000 people in their place of work to get those health checks done.

“So to kind of bring healthcare to them on rather than the other way round.”

She told the inquiry that other policies – such as the rollout of blood pressure checks in pharmacies – also aimed to boost uptake among men.

The minister said: “Men in particular are not happy to have to phone at 8am to get through to their GP then take time off to go to an appointment.

“If they’re out on the high street on a Saturday morning, they can go and get their blood pressure checked.”

She said evidence so far suggested that making checks “easy and accessible” was key.

‘You’ve got a captive audience’

The minister highlighted the use of football grounds to promote health causes, and to offer routine checks.

She said: “You’ve got a captive audience and football clubs are doing a lot of work at half time putting messages on big screens” with others offering X-rays and CT scans as part of community diagnostic schemes.

“There is a trusted relationship – and much more likely to listen to a footballer saying go get your blood pressure checked as opposed to [hearing it from] a minister,” she said.

Wes Streeting, Labour’s health spokesman, has said Labour would introduce a men’s health strategy, if the party wins the election.

Ms Caulfield said there were “no specific plans for a men’s health strategy” pointing to a number of drives to promote men’s health, including the recent announcement of a trial on screening for prostate cancer.

The Government will soon announce the appointment of a men’s health ambassador, she said.

The minister said evidence suggests that men were more likely to come forward if they were offered positive and reassuring messages that “it is worth coming forward”.

She said: “One of the things that we’ve had feedback on is for men, they don’t want to just hear, ‘Come and get your blood pressure checked, because it might prevent a heart attack’.

“They just then want to know, what are you going to do about that?

“And if they know that, if you come and your blood pressure is slightly higher, there’s medication that can help, and dietary advice ... that it may not be medication for life, it might be for a short period, they’re much more willing to engage.”

The inquiry is considering why life expectancy for men has fallen at a faster rate than women’s since the pandemic.

Evidence from the Men’s Health Forum, a registered charity, shows three quarters of premature deaths from cardiovascular disease are among men.

The charity said men were 43 per cent more likely to die from cancer, 26 per cent more likely to have type 2 diabetes and constituted 66 per cent of alcohol-related deaths.