Lung Health Check St Helens

If you live in St Helens you will receive an invitation for a NHS Lung Health Check if you:

• are registered with a GP Practice in St Helens
• are aged between 55-74 years old at the point at which your practice population is invited to attend a Lung Health Check
• your GP has a record of you being a current smoker or having ever smoked.

You will be invited for your free NHS Lung Health Check via a letter through the post from Liverpool Heart and Chest Hospital. Please follow the instructions in the letter to book your appointment either online or over the telephone.

The Lung Health Check programme will roll out across the St Helens area between autumn 2022 and winter 2023.

If you are eligible, you will be invited when the programme reaches the area where your GP practice is located.

When you are invited for a Lung Health Check you will need to follow the instructions in the letter to book your appointment either online or over the phone. Your appointment will be with an NHS Lung Health Check nurse employed by Liverpool Heart and Chest Hospital. 

The appointment will last around 30-45 minutes. The nurse will ask you a number of questions about your health, lifestyle and history, including any personal history of cancer or family history of lung cancer. The answers will be used to assess your risk of developing lung cancer in the future.

If you are assessed as being at increased risk of lung cancer, you will then be offered a low dose CT scan. If you are offered a scan, the nurse will talk you through the benefits and risks, and you will be able to ask any questions you may have. An appointment for your CT scan will be booked for you.

After your CT scan, you will receive your results within around four weeks. Your GP will also be contacted with the results of your scan.

More information about the NHS Lung Health Check is included in the leaflet you receive with your invitation.

Your lungs are the part of your body that work hard every day so you can breathe. 

They really do not get much rest, in one day you can breathe up to 25,000 times! They carry oxygen from the air into your blood and release carbon dioxide from your blood into the air. Your body’s cells need this oxygen to work properly. Your lungs have a natural defence system to keep out dirt and germs but several things can damage this, meaning they can’t do their job as well.

There are lots of things that you can do to look after your lungs, which are just as important if you already have a lung condition, including:

• being more active
• eating a balanced diet
• stopping smoking
• making sure you have all your vaccinations if you are over 65 years old or have a long-term condition
• knowing the warning signs and symptoms of lung conditions including Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Diseases (COPD) and lung cancer.

For more information please see our guide to looking after your lungs. 

As a current smoker one of the most important things you can do to keep your lungs as healthy as possible is to stop smoking.

In St Helens, you can contact the St Helens Wellbeing Stop Smoking service to get help and support to stop smoking, available free of charge.

For more information or to make an appointment text QUIT to 61825 or call 01744 371 111

or visit them online here: www.sthelenswellbeing.org.uk/services/stop-smoking