Health check success at Hopevale

Apunipima Cape York Health Council conducted the free health checks for the community at the Hopevale Business Precinct Meeting Room over three days. The checks provided residents with vital information on their wellbeing.

Apunipima’s Dr Mel Scrace said it was satisfying to see people coming forward and having their health assessed.

“It was a really good opportunity to provide people with valuable information on their health and to educate them about maintenance and prevention of chronic disease,” Dr Scrace said.

She said the tool, Your Heart Forecast, was of particular interest to people. The on-site machine measures a person’s risk for major disease and provides immediate results on the risk of heart attack, stroke and other major artery diseases as well as glucose levels. The machine makes testing for cholesterol and other lipids easy with results in just minutes.

“Your Heart Forecast was very popular as people were genuinely interested in what information it could provide them.

“Some people think if their uncle, aunty, or someone in their mob has a chronic disease such as Type 2 diabetes, that it’s inevitable for them to get it. That is not the case as all chronic disease is preventable.

“The tool is unique in that it shows a person’s present risk of stroke and heart attack and shows them what they need to do to lower that risk, whether that may be to stop smoking, take medication and/or exercise.”

Apunipima Health Check coordinator Michele Clark attended the health check sessions and said health checks are important and you don’t have to be sick to see a doctor.

“A health check is an essential part of maintaining your health,” Ms Clark said.

“You shouldn’t have to be sick to see your doctor. Prevention is part of the bigger picture,” she said.

“Health checks are important to nip chronic disease in the bud before it gets a chance to start.”

The event was a joint initiative between Apunipima, Queensland Health and the Royal Flying Doctor Service.