Health Check at Barnton Pharmacy

The Barnton Pharmacy Health Check will give you an overview of your health to help you prevent heart disease, stroke, diabetes, kidney disease, certain types of dementia and lung disease. The health check is for anyone who has not already been diagnosed with one of these conditions. You will be given support and advice to help them reduce or manage that risk.

These diseases cause the majority of long term diseases in Scotland and many of them can be prevented.

Heart disease	Heart disease occurs when the artery that supplies blood to the heart becomes blocked.
Stroke	A stroke deprives your brain of blood and is a medical emergency.
Kidney disease	When the kidneys don’t work properly, it can cause serious health problems.
Type 2 diabetes	Diabetes can raise your risk of heart disease, stroke and kidney disease.
Dementia	Vascular dementia is caused by problems with the supply of oxygen to the brain following a stroke or vessel disease
Lung Disease	Common in smokers and ex smokers. Can lead to breathlessness.

What happens at a health check?

The Health Check at Barnton Pharmacy is carried out by our highly trained team. It involves a few straightforward health tests and some simple questions about your medical history and lifestyle. The health check takes about 60 minutes to complete.

Getting ready for your health check

         Do not eat anything for 12 hours before your test. This includes milk in tea or coffee. You may have water

         Wear light clothing and a short sleeved top to make it easier to take your blood pressure. Bare feet needed for accuracy on scales, for ease at BMI test stage. Must be able to remove all footwear.

         Bring a fresh sample of urine with you.(No more than 2 hours prior to appointment) We can provide a specimen bottle.

Tests offered during your health check

Your Body Mass Index (BMI)	BMI is a measure of whether you are a healthy weight for your height. People who are overweight are more likely to develop vascular disease
Blood pressure	This is the pressure that your blood exerts on the walls of your arteries as it moves through them. High blood pressure can weaken the walls of your arteries, increasing the risk of blockage or breaking, which can lead to heart disease, stroke and vascular kidney disease.
Cholesterol	Cholesterol is a vital fat for the proper functioning of your body. There are two kinds of cholesterol and too much of one kind in the blood can narrow the arteries, which can lead to vascular disease. A small amount of blood is taken from your finger for this test.
Diabetes risk assessment	Diabetes occurs when the hormone insulin, which converts sugar into energy, doesn't work properly. This results in a build-up of sugar in the blood, which can result in a wide range of serious health problems. Left unmanaged, diabetes can increase your risk of heart disease and stroke. A small sample of blood from your finger is taken to check the level of sugar in your blood.
Urine test	A sample of urine is tested for blood or protein to check whether your kidneys are working well.
Lung function test	To establish how well your lungs are functioning. You simply breath long and hard into a special device, which will monitor how well your lungs are functioning and give an estimation of how ‘old’ your lungs are compared to your actual age.

The results

Your health check results will be discussed with you fully.

You will get a personalised health action plan to take away which may include advice on what action you can take to lower your risk and improve your chances of a healthier life. This could include suggestions on small changes to your diet or how much exercise you take if your risk is low or moderate. If you are at higher risk, you will be referred to your doctor to discuss the findings further.

How much does it cost?

The health check at Barnton Pharmacy costs £50.00

My diabetes, my way

"Chat, click, call" is a new diabetes awareness campaign.

Launched by the Scottish Government and Diabetes UK Scotland in August this campaign aims to empower people with diabetes to be well informed in the management of their condition.

Three resources are available to diabetics:

Chat

Talk to your pharmacist about your medication, general advice about diabetes and also about blood glucose monitoring.

If you are unsure about whether you should be monitoring or need help with your meter, come and see us.

Click

All people with diabetes can access their diabetes related data online.

I think this is a massive step forward and should help those people that want to be involved in their own care to do so.

I wonder how long before all of us will be able to access our own clinical data online?

Call

The final strand of the campaign reminds people with diabetes about the Diabetes UK Scotland Careline which can be access by calling 0845 120 2960. A call to the care line will give you information and support and allow you to share your experiences with others.

These are excellent resources for people with diabetes in Scotland.

Remember that at Barnton pharmacy we are here to help and we also offer a diabetes screening service. Call 0131 339 3449 for more information.

Self management - what's it all about?

Over 2 million people in Scotland are living with a long term condition such as asthma, diabetes or mental health problems.
That's about 40% of us.
Self management is about enjoying life with a long term condition, not about enduring it. It's about you being in charge of your illness.

Click here to find out more about self management

There are loads of reasons why this makes sense, but the the Self Management website lists just a few:

• Life can be better with self management.  Being told you have a condition for which there may be no cure can be devastating.  Individuals respond in individual ways.  It can often have a profound impact on a person’s well-being and self-esteem.
• People try to cope as best they can with the support they have.  But frequently they do not have the information or skills to manage their condition well.  It is often difficult to make well informed decisions about their life; let alone make plans for the future.
• Together with health professionals and others who provide support, self management helps people to make decisions that are right for their life.

At Barnton Pharmacy we firmly believe in self management and in terms of your medicines this means being informed about them, knowing when to take them to get the best out of them and what to expect in terms of side effects or interactions with other medicines.

Our team are on hand to answer your questions so that you can get on with enjoying life!