Scottish family doctors have condemned a multi-million pound Scottish Government campaign to target everybody turning 40 for a health check.
At their annual conference in Clydebank, GPs unanimously voted that the campaign, Life Begins at 40, is a waste of money.
The doctors agreed that the campaign, which will target 74,000 Scots this year alone, does nothing to address inequalities and uses money that is required elsewhere within the health service.
Scottish public health minister Shona Robison announced the Life Begins at 40 campaign last month. Everyone turning 40 will get a letter from NHS 24 inviting them to go online or pick up the phone and answer questions about their health.
The campaign hopes to use the fact that landmark birthdays, such as reaching 40, often set people thinking about their life and changing habits to prolong or improve it. But GPs rejected the plan and think the cash could be better spent elsewhere.
Dr Steve Haigh, a GP from Lothian, said, “In the present financial climate, the Life Begins at 40 campaign in Scotland is not a good use of public money. It encourages people over 40 to check on their health by accessing an online questionnaire or speaking to an NHS 24 adviser. Surely the same is already available online and in every pharmacy and GP surgery across the country.
“As we have just seen at this conference, yes we need to prevent illness, but randomly targeting this age set is not the answer.”
Dr Dean Marshall, who chairs the BMA’s GP committee, said, “Life Begins at 40 fails to help patients with the greatest need. It’s an approach GPs neither support or welcome. It needs to be addressed before this project wastes money better spent elsewhere.”