Health bosses hope more people aged 40 to 74 will take up the option of a free five-year health check as part of a new care strategy.

The national take-up of the service – and that in Harrow – is around 55 per cent.

Carole Furlong, director of public health at Harrow Council, explained that not all practices in the borough offer it due to resource issues.

But Harrow Clinical Commissioning Group’s (CCG) new primary care strategy, which was presented to the council this afternoon, seeks to improve access.

This could include specialist hubs, the CCG explained.

“Going forward, we hope that there will be a way of delivering it for those who don’t have the capacity,” Ms Furlong said. “We should be inviting all those who are eligible.”

As well as belonging to the relevant age group, the health checks are open to those who do not have an existing heart condition.

The aim is to prevent chronic conditions like diabetes, heart disease, stroke and dementia.

It consists of a health questionnaire and three or four basic health tests – cholesterol test, measuring Body Mass Index, blood pressure and a diabetes risk assessment.

More information, and where to get a health check can be found on the NHS website.

Currently, Harrow Council is not listed as a resource – a spokesperson for the council said this will be changed and that it would always encourage people to seek out the free health check.

Information on the service is available on the council’s website.