Everybody feels the benefit of being healthy and there are many things an individual can do to maintain good health. In many respects it's all about the lifestyle you choose. The main benefit of making the right healthcare decisions is that you are less likely to develop and suffer with long-term conditions that can shorten your lifespan.

We encourage patients to eat healthily, exercise regularly, stop smoking, maintain a healthy weight and avoid excess alcohol intake. It may seem that these routes to a healthy lifestyle are promoted at every opportunity, but that's because it's the key to avoid developing conditions such as heart disease and diabetes.

In addition to healthy lifestyle advice, it is beneficial to have specific screening for certain conditions. Many people are familiar with the national screening programmes, such as cervical cytology screening and breast screening.

We regularly invite patients to attend for cardiovascular (raised blood pressure and heart disease) screening, which includes appropriate screening for diabetes, and screening for respiratory system (breathing) conditions.

We have also now developed an osteoporosis screening questionnaire with the hope of detecting people who may be susceptible to fragile bones in older age.

Cardiovascular disease
Osteoporosis
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
Smoking cessation