A pilot scheme designed to identify and nip potential health problems in the bud has been launched by the Isle of Man’s public health directorate.<\/p>\n
The so-called fit checks have begun at Ramsey Group Practice in the north of the island, as part of a project that could also help to shape future services.<\/p>\n
They look at the lifestyle, mental well-being, and basic physical health of people aged between 18 and 39.<\/p>\n
Public health consultant Dr Ross Keat said supporting people earlier to make small preventative changes would make \u00ab\u00a0a big difference later on\u00a0\u00bb.<\/p>\n
Some 3,500 people in the north of the island within that age bracket are eligible for the checks.<\/p>\n
The checks will be carried out by two pre-existing nurses that support GP staff and would not replace GP appointments, Keat explained, adding that the cost would be minimal and absorbed by Ramsey Group Practice.<\/p>\n
He said it was hoped the scheme could be expanded into island-wide services, with the pilot offering health and care services \u00ab\u00a0a blueprint\u00a0\u00bb to roll it out in other areas.<\/p>\n
Frailty coordinator Georgia Zapparoli, who normally worked with people in their later years, said the 18 to 39 age bracket was key as \u00ab\u00a0common themes\u00a0\u00bb ran through the lifestyle of many older patients.<\/p>\n
Zapparoli said getting people into \u00ab\u00a0good habits\u00a0\u00bb before they reach 50 would mean \u00ab\u00a0in 30 years time we won’t have the same need in the general population as we do now\u00a0\u00bb.<\/p>\n
Also from 18 to 39, she said people tended to neglect themselves by \u00ab\u00a0working more hours than we do for the rest our lives\u00a0\u00bb.<\/p>\n
\u00ab\u00a0Because we can, because we’re young, we push ourselves too hard, we burn the candle at both ends, she said, which created problems that arose when people where in their 50s.<\/p>\n
Zapparoli said questions in the appointments would also look at people’s living situations, employment status, social life, and physical activity – to help shape future services.<\/p>\n
\u00ab\u00a0If we find out for example, that 60% of our young people are working in really hard physical labour, we will need to make sure that in 20 years time we’ve invested in physiotherapy,\u00a0\u00bb she said.<\/p>\n
While the questions \u00ab\u00a0might seem a little bit probing\u00a0\u00bb, no one was being \u00ab\u00a0judged\u00a0\u00bb and it was important to get honest answers to invest in the right services for the island, she added.<\/p>\n
Read more stories from the Isle of Man on the BBC, watch BBC North West Tonight on BBC iPlayer and follow BBC Isle of Man on Facebook and X.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A pilot scheme designed to identify and nip potential health problems in the bud has been launched by the Isle of Man’s public health directorate. The so-called fit checks have begun at Ramsey Group Practice in the north of the island, as part of a project that could also help to shape future services. They […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-9669","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-uncategorized"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/placedesnations.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9669","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/placedesnations.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/placedesnations.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/placedesnations.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9669"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/placedesnations.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9669\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/placedesnations.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9669"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/placedesnations.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9669"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/placedesnations.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9669"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}