John Lewis to supply in-store blood checks to hundreds of thousands of Brits

Retail big John Lewis is to supply prospects in-store blood checks in an unprecedented rollout throughout shops that would assist drive down NHS ready lists. The firm has partnered with diagnostics agency Randox in a novel programme which can supply prospects well being checks, together with these for sure cancers, diabetes and coronary heart illness.

It is believed to be the primary time blood checks are supplied in malls and follows the success of a pilot scheme final winter.

The news comes as Randox launches a collection of recent blood checks which it says can choose up markers for some cancers at an early stage.

Randox has been in talks with senior NHS officers urging them to undertake its pioneering expertise that establish abnormalities utilizing a particular microchip.

It believes its novel ‘lab on a chip’ checks for prostate, bladder and gastrointestinal cancers might minimize the NHS ready record by decreasing the variety of sufferers having to endure invasive and generally painful diagnostic checks. This might embrace cystoscopies – the process that King Charles was prone to have undergone as a part of investigations into his prostate situation.

NHS officers have been given knowledge displaying as much as 2.2 million individuals might be lifted off the ready record and £3 billion a yr saved if the Randox blood most cancers checks had been routinely used within the NHS. Ministers are stated to be inspecting the findings.

Checks for vitamin and mineral deficiencies, fertility and hormonal well being in addition to genetic testing for illness are additionally being supplied.

Blood samples are despatched to labs and outcomes are despatched again to purchasers who’re in a position to e book post-report consultations.

Naomi Simcock, Executive Director, John Lewis, stated prospects are “increasingly seeking personalised, preventative health and wellbeing care.”

She added: “Our stores can play an important role by making vital services like healthcare more convenient and accessible.”

Dr Peter FitzGerald, Managing Director of Randox Health stated: “Our complete testing packages present the inspiration for people to take higher management of their well being and optimise the potential to reside properly for longer. Randox’s presence in John Lewis shops will more and more enhance accessibility to main healthcare prevention and wellbeing.”

A government spokesman said: “We have already made available £2.3 billion in capital investment over three years to transform diagnostic services, including improving digital diagnostic capabilities, and we have opened 153 community diagnostic centres, delivering more than six million additional scans to date.

“The NHS carefully considers any treatment or procedure proven to improve or speed up diagnosis.”