GuernseyChest and Heart

GUERNSEY CHEST AND HEART

Guernsey Chest and Heart LBG is the beneficiary of the funds raised during this year’s Guernsey Property and Construction Awards gala evening. The charity has been operating in the island since 1974, offering free health screenings to thousands of islanders from its site on the grounds of Guernsey’s Princess Elizabeth Hospital.

Guernsey Chest and Heart is open to all islanders from Guernsey, Alderney and Sark. The charity also recently extended the age range it covers, so those aged from 25 up to 75 are encouraged to make an appointment. For manager Julie Jones, that was a natural progression for the service: “We’re always looking to improve what we offer and ensure that our service is relevant to islanders needs. People’s general health has improved so much that our previous upper age limit of 70 was no longer appropriate. We’ve now extended it up to 75 and very much encourage older islanders to pay us a visit.”

Appointments can made for a full health check that involves everything from measuring blood pressure to cholesterol levels and body analysis. Clients are encouraged to visit every five years so that a full health record is kept and results can be compared. For Julie, that knowledge is power when it comes to your health: “We provide our clients with all the information we can on their health. If you collect data about yourself, then you have the opportunity to make lifestyle changes that are measurable and you are in control of that. Having the information puts you in charge of your own wellbeing. I think we’re often fearful of the unknown, but once you have clarity it’s much easier to do something positive, or even have your mind put at rest.”

The lifestyle changes that clients are often encouraged to make involve a range of alterations in areas such as diet and exercise. Julie said that people are often surprised at how simple some switches can be: “A lot of people don’t realise, for example, how many calories are contained in alcohol. We often find that following a visit here, people look to reduce their alcohol intake and that can make a big difference.”

With clients’ permission, the results of the health screenings are shared with their GP, and any issues that are flagged are followed up with a doctor or specialist. The service is unable to see anyone with a pre-existing cardiac condition.

The charity is funded completely by public donations, and Julie said they are very much needed: “We’re so grateful for islanders’ support, which allows this service to continue. We’re currently looking to raise money for some new body composition scales as ours need

replacing. They’re very useful as they do a full weight analysis, looking at BMI, visceral fat, body fat, water, muscle mass, basal metabolic rate, metabolic age, bone mass and muscle quality. They cost around £1,600 each and we need two of them but they allow us to provide an up-to-date service so any funds raised at the awards will certainly be put towards that.”

Alongside manager Julie, four screening nurses and two reception staff currently work for the charity. With demand high for their services, that staffing could be increased to allow them to fulfil their ambitions to extend what they offer even further.

IN NUMBERS

Due to its limited capabilities because of the pandemic over the past two years, Guernsey Chest and Heart doesn’t have accurate recent statistics. But, as a guide to the numbers, in 2018 the charity saw almost 2,000 islanders, helping diagnose a wide range of potential problems.

Number of clients screened 1,934

Number of new clients seen 498

Number of clients with a BMI greater than 30 407

Number of clients with raised blood pressure 214

Number of clients with raised cholesterol 418

Number of clients with abnormal ECGs 53

GET SCREENED

While all eligible islanders are encouraged to make an appointment at the medical centre to get checked out, Julie says she understands that it can be difficult or offputting to find the time to get to their site at the hospital. The charity is therefore very happy to visit companies at their workplace and set up a mobile clinic.

“This is not just an offer for corporate environments,” said Julie. “We’d be delighted to come and set up at a construction site and screen all the workers there. As long as we can have a space for our equipment and somewhere dry to see everyone, we’re very happy to come wherever suits those in the industry. Please just get in touch and we can make some arrangements to come to you – it just takes 10 minutes per person for a blood pressure and body analysis check. But we would also encourage all employers to allow their employees the necessary time to come and visit us for a full screening as it’s such a vital check on their health and wellbeing.”

WHAT TO EXPECT

An appointment at Guernsey Chest and Heart follows a very typical structure. Clients are advised not to smoke or drink caffeine for 30 minutes before their appointment as it can affect some results.

Here’s what will happen during your appointment:

• You will arrive at the centre on the PEH site and park directly outside in the allocated client spaces then check in with reception • Get introduced to your screening nurse and taken through to one of the four screening rooms • Discuss the information provided prior to the appointment to assess your risk factors, and what encouraged the visit • Hand over the urine sample all clients are requested to bring, to be analysed for protein and glucose levels • Have your height measured and stand on the body analysis scales • Lie down on the couch where a finger prick of blood will be taken to monitor your cholesterol profile and sugar levels • Have stickers put on your chest for a 12-lead ECG heart tracing with the instant results sent to your GP • Have your blood pressure taken

Once all those tests have been carried out, the screening nurse will input the data into a risk assessment tool before sitting with the client and analysing the results. That discussion often centres on their lifestyle and any choices they can make to improve their health.

The whole process should take about 35 minutes. After the appointment, you can go into the client portal and access your results along with their interpretation.

Five years later, you’ll be invited back to repeat the process …