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Tall order for health check
9/ 4/2008
ONE doctor’s practice has a novel variation on the old ‘speak your weight’ machine.
Simmondley Medical Practice has just had installed a health check station, where patients can have not just their height but their weight and body mass index (BMI) measured in around five minutes.
The high tech machine will then spew out a printed receipt of their reading, free of charge.
Christine Teasdale, an assistant nurse practitioner at Dr Subash Bhatt’s Pennine Road surgery, said: "Before we had this machine, we used the wall which people stood against to measure their height, but sometimes they drop their necks so we didn’t always get a proper measurement.
"They also had to stand on scales to get a measurement of their weight. But this machine gives us much more accurate measurements and body mass indexes for people with, or at risk of, chronic illnesses such as heart disease and diabetes."
Julie Murray Shepherd, health improvement co-ordinator at Tameside and Glossop Primary Care Trust — which has funded the machines — added: "The health check stations will benefit those who want to attend a quick personal health check-up and know the results of these simple tests, to help them decide if their health is at risk."
More than 100 health check machines will be installed in pharmacies, surgeries and clinics throughout Tameside and Glossop during the next month.
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