- Conference
- 2019 National Retired Members Conference
- Date
- 10 May 2019
- Decision
- Carried
Conference acknowledges that early identification and diagnosis of a range of health conditions e.g. heart and lung problems, diabetes, kidney disease and early cancers can have a significant impact and increase the chance of success of subsequent treatments.
Health professionals widely agree that early diagnosis of many conditions can be of major personal health benefit for the individuals concerned. Patients who are “treated early” are usually “treated easily”. Recovery time is generally quicker if the patient is relatively in good health before treatment starts.
Routine health checks often flag up serious conditions which have hitherto gone undetected in the course of examinations for what might be regarded as relatively minor ailments.
Early diagnosis and treatment will almost certainly result in significant cost savings for the National Health Service (NHS) by avoiding the need for more complicated medical procedures if serious conditions go undetected and are allowed to develop.
Conference calls on the National Retired Members’ Committee to campaign for fully comprehensive personal health checks to be made available through the NHS to all older persons as a matter of routine when they reach the age of 65 years and at five-yearly intervals thereafter.