Annual health checks

Annual Health Checks are for children and adults aged 14 and over who are on their General Practitioner's (GP) learning disability register.  

An annual health check helps you stay well by talking about your health and finding any problems early, so you get the right care. 

You do not have to be ill to have a health check - in fact, most people have their annual health check when they're feeling well. 

If you're worried about seeing a doctor, or there's anything they can do to make your visit better, let the doctor or nurse know. They'll help make sure it goes well for you. 

The purpose of your annual health check is to talk about your health and find any problems early that could make you poorly.  

Your GP will talk to you about your health.  

You can ask your GP questions about your health, how you're feeling or any medicines you take.  

Your GP will offer you an annual health check. If your GP hasn't offered you a health check, you can ask them to provide one.  

Ask your GP if you need any reasonable adjustments, such as: 

• using pictures, large print or simpler words to say what's happening  
• booking longer appointments 
• putting an appointment at the beginning or end of the day, if you find it hard to be in a busy waiting room 

If you have difficulty visiting your GP, the Primary Care Health Hub can meet you in a place of your choosing to do your annual health check.  

You can contact the Primary Care Health Hub on 0191 451 6649 or SouthTynesidePCPHS@cntw.nhs.uk  

During the health check, the GP or nurse will:  

• Do a physical check-up, including weight, heart rate, blood pressure and taking blood and urine samples 
• Talk to you about staying well and if you need any help with this 
• Talk to you about how you are feeling.  
• Ask about things that are more common if you have a learning disability, such as epilepsy, constipation or problems with swallowing 
• Talk to you about your medicines 
• If you have a health problem such as asthma or diabetes, the GP or nurse will check how it's going 
• Check to see if you have any other health appointments, such as physiotherapy or speech therapy 
• Ask if family and/or carers are getting the support they need 
• Help make sure that things go well when children move to adult services at the age of 18 
• Give you a health action plan. A health action plan tells you what to do to keep healthy. It is written by you and your GP. If your GP does not give you a health action plan, ask for one.  
• You can also talk about any medication that you may be taking. This is called STOMP (Stopping the over medication of people with a learning disability, autism or both). NHS England: STOMP

Contact your GP to arrange your annual health check.  

If you have difficulty visiting your GP, the Primary Care Health Hub can meet you in a place of your choosing to do your annual health check.  

You can contact the Primary Care Health Hub on 0191 451 6649 or SouthTynesidePCPHS@cntw.nhs.uk  

A easy read guide to annual health checks can be found at MENCAP: Annual Health Checks