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Support and offers for individual members and customers

Practical questions about facilities and booking arrangements

What happens when I book? Hide

We would prefer to talk to the actual person who will be attending the health assessment when making the booking. This is because we may need to establish some medical details, in order to confirm the appropriateness of the assessment. We'll ask about things such as whether any medication is currently being taken. For women who want a cervical smear, we'll need to ensure that the appointment does not coincide with their menstrual cycle.

We'll establish the right assessment and check the availability of a suitable appointment at a local centre. We’ll then make the booking and take your credit card details to secure the booking.

Once you've booked your health assessment, we'll send you an appointment pack containing information that you should know prior to your health assessment, along with a health questionnaire that will need to be completed before your appointment.

Book your health assessment online or call us on 0845 600 3458 to discuss your needs.

How do I pay? Hide

If you are paying for your assessment yourself please ensure that you bring a method of payment with you on the day. You may pay by cash, cheque (payable to Bupa Wellness) or by any of the following credit, debit or charge cards - Visa, Mastercard, Switch, Delta, American Express or Diners Club.

What happens if I need to change my appointment? Hide

If you should need to change or cancel your appointment, we can do this for a fee of £15, providing you call us a least three clear working days before your appointment. A £75 fee will be charged if you give us less notice than three clear working days. If you cancel or fail to attend on the day you will be charged the full price of your assessment.

What provision do you have for disabled customers? Hide

All customers are welcome to attend Bupa Health Assessment Centres. Please let us know of any disability at the time of booking so that special arrangements and/or an extended appointment can be made for you if necessary. For customers with restricted mobility we may need to give additional instructions regarding parking or access to the building. Customers with other difficulties, such as communication problems, should, where possible, arrange for a friend, relative or other assistant to accompany them. For example, this could include an interpreter or signer.

Bupa Centres do not have specialised equipment such as hoists.

How do I prepare for the appointment? Hide

You will be sent a health questionnaire that you’ll need to complete before your assessment. If for any reason the appointment pack doesn’t arrive in time you can access the checklist, questionnaire and other important information about your health assessment online. Alternatively you should arrive at least 15 minutes prior to your appointment to allow time to complete the questionnaire.

There is no need for a prolonged fast before your health assessment, but you are advised to eat a light diet and avoid high sugar food and drink, including fruit juice. Please note that diabetics on medication should not fast or alter their diet in any way prior to their assessment.

What questions will I need to answer? Hide

We want to know what you want from your health assessment, and what particular concerns you may have, so that we can deal with these fully. You’ll need to answer questions about your medical history. Any information you can also provide about your family’s medical history will help.

What health information can I read? Hide

You’ll find everything you need to know about Bupa health assessments on this website, but if you’d like an enquiry call on 0845 600 3458 or email us. There are also lots of factsheets available on healthy living, medical conditions and treatment in our health information section.

What is the statement of confidentiality? Hide

The results of your assessment are confidential and will not be sent to anyone without your agreement. With your agreement we will forward these to your GP. They will not be sent to your medical insurer, including anyone looking after your Bupa membership if you are a member.

What do I do if something goes wrong? Hide

We are always pleased to hear about aspects of our service that you have particularly appreciated. We also want to hear about any problems you have experienced, so that we can deal with them speedily and improve our service in the future.

If something goes wrong, here’s a simple procedure to ensure that your concerns are dealt with quickly and effectively. If you have a complaint about any aspect of our service, we would like to address this straightaway. If possible therefore, please speak to a member of staff at the centre. All centres have a complaints handler who has had specific training. Or you may prefer to talk to the centre manager.

If we cannot satisfactorily resolve your concern there and then and you wish to make a complaint by telephone or in writing, please call or write to the centre manager. You’ll find the address in the "facilities finder” section of this website.

View the locations of our centres 

We will aim to give you a written acknowledgement of your complaint within 24 hours of receipt. A full response will be made within 20 working days. All complaints are dealt with confidentially and impartially.

If required, your complaint will be referred to the regional manager and may be escalated to the lead director.

We keep a record of every complaint and look at how many we receive and the reasons. We use this information along with our customer surveys to help make sure we continually improve the service we provide.

This procedure does not affect your legal rights.

Bupa Wellness

Head Office

Battle Bridge House

300 Gray’s Inn Road

London

WC1X 8DU

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Specific questions about your health assessment and what happens on the day

How does Bupa choose what tests to include in the health assessments? Hide

In our health assessments we only provide tests that are proven to be clinically valid. We do not perform tests that just look good and are not recognised by medical professionals as being legitimate.

How long will my health assessment take? Hide

Generally between one and three hours depending on which health assessment you choose. We can tell you when you book or you can look at your chosen health assessment page.

What's involved in carrying out the assessment? Hide

You’ll be greeted by a health adviser who will talk you through your assessment in detail. The health adviser will take a small amount of blood, collect urine samples from you and, depending on the assessment, carry out tests such as height, weight, hearing and vision. Your cholesterol and glucose tests require you to fast for six hours before your assessment. After these tests the health adviser will offer you a snack to eat and then you will be ready for your doctor consultation. The doctor will have the results of most of your tests and the medical questionnaire you have completed.

The doctor will offer you advice and you’ll be given a personal health report and action plan to take away with you.

For some tests, such as smears and prostate tests the samples need to be sent off to a laboratory for testing. The results of these tests will be sent to you within two weeks of your assessment.

If we do discover anything that needs further assessment we’ll let you know what to do next and recommend relevant specialists if necessary.

What will the experience be like? Hide

Bupa health assessments are carried out in a relaxed atmosphere. We will try our best to put you at ease and make the experience as enjoyable as possible. Over 80 percent of customers rate their health assessment as good or excellent and over 90 percent say they feel more reassured about their health following their assessment.

How do you ensure my assessment is personalised to my needs? Hide

Through an extensive questionnaire, a wide range of tests and a lengthy consultation with a doctor we are able to provide a full picture of your health and give advice that is tailored to you based on the wide range of information we gather.

What happens if something is discovered? Hide

With your agreement, we will write to your doctor informing him or her of any significant findings. We may advise you to see your GP to follow up on these results. We may be able to arrange for a referral to a specialist or ask your GP to do so. We always recommend you keep your GP informed.

How soon do I get my test results? Hide

Most of your test results will be available immediately and a Bupa doctor will discuss these with you during your consultation. This will give you the time to ask questions and discuss any specific health concerns you may have, in a relaxed and friendly atmosphere.

You will receive a personal health report, giving a detailed picture of your current state of health, together with our recommendations for the future - all in clear, straightforward language. If we find that your lifestyle could lead to problems, we'll give you practical advice to help you minimise the risks - so you can look forward to a healthy life.

Some tests such as pathology tests, mammograms, cervical smear and prostate tests will need to go to special laboratories. You should get all the results within two weeks of your appointment.

What happens if I discover a problem after my assessment? Hide

As with most medical tests and services, it may not always be possible to detect all diseases and abnormalities at the time of your assessment, though we do our best to do so. For this reason, it is important that if you have any new symptoms or concerns after your health assessment, you should seek medical advice as soon as possible.

Will I be able to see how my health has changed since my last assessment? Hide

When you come again we should have your previous results and be able to identify trends in your health.

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General questions about health assessments

How do you ensure that sensitive personal identifiable information is handled securely and confidentially? Hide

Under the Data Protection Act 1998, Bupa is the data controller, and not the data processor, with respect to the processing of personal data of its members, including those who are members by virtue of belonging to a corporate or company scheme. Therefore, the confidentiality and security obligations are imposed directly on Bupa by the Data Protection Act 1998.

At Bupa, we take the confidentiality of patient and member information extremely seriously and we fully comply with Medical Confidentiality Guidelines, ABI Codes of Practice, Data Protection Legislation and other relevant legislation and regulation. It is Bupa’s policy to comply with all legal and regulatory requirements that apply to the way we run our business.

Bupa’s confidentiality policy and guidelines apply to everybody who works at Bupa, whether temporary or permanent. Confidentiality is a key aspect within induction training and is the subject of continuing awareness training. Compliance is actively monitored. Non compliance with the policy and guidelines may result in disciplinary action being taken.

As an integrated healthcare company, Bupa maintains patient, member, customer and other information, which must be protected for ethical, legal, regulatory and commercial reasons. Such personal data is processed only in accordance with Bupa’s Data Protection Registration and as indicated in the Bupa Data Protection Notice. Furthermore, Bupa has taken the appropriate technical and organisational measures against unauthorised or unlawful processing of this data and against accidental loss or destruction of, or damage to, this data.

The Bupa Group IS security policies, rules, standards and guidelines at all levels incorporate the International Information Security Management Standard ISO/IEC 27001:2005 (formally British Standard BS 7799: Part 2) which is based on national and international legal requirements and considerations.

Bupa holds a Certificate of Registration to the International Information Security Management Standard ISO/IEC 27001:2005 in respect to its Computer Centre. Certificate number: IS 517128. This Certification, issued by the British Standards Institute (which is continuously independently monitored by BSI every six months) can be independently verified and validated at www.bsi-global.com/ClientDirectory.

Bupa Wellness has been awarded ISO 9001:200 certification, certificate number GB01/53883. The accreditation body used for the inspection is called SGS. Bupa Wellness has been assessed and certified as meeting the requirements of ISO 9001:2000 for the whole of the business. The certification is continually independently monitored by SGS every six months through a series of site visits and process audits.

Bupa Wellness is also in the process of implementing the Information Governance toolkit. The Bupa IG Toolkit is a valid customisation of the NHS IG Toolkit. The Information Governance Toolkit measures compliance against a range of current legislation, requirements and best practice in the handling of patient identified information in line with the relevant International Organisation for Standardisation (IOS) standard, ISO 17799.

How do you ensure your customers receive a high quality service? Hide

Stringent standards to ensure high quality

Clinical governance

Bupa Wellness are committed to quality in all clinical areas. Our clinical governance framework promotes clinical excellence through:

• quality improvement activity
• continuous review of policies and protocols
• internal and external audits
• clear policies to manage risk
• clinical incidents reporting
• a clear complaints handling policy
• management and reporting of poor performance
• training and development

We are registered with the Healthcare Commission

Bupa Wellness Centres are regulated and audited by the Healthcare Commission. A copy of the latest inspection reports is available on their website: www.healthcarecommission.org.uk/homepage.cfm

The Healthcare Commission require that all our procedures and policies place the client as the most important stakeholder, and that we ensure client safety at all times through clear policies and procedures.

Our doctors and health advisers

We choose our doctors carefully; normally they will have been qualified for at least five years and have a broad background of medical experience. Many will have a higher degree – MRCGP, MRCP or equivalent. All will have undergone a training programme to familiarise them with the concept of health assessment and Bupa Wellness protocols. All are subject to an initial three-month appraisal and then annual appraisals thereafter, with regular notes audits and report checks.

Our health advisers are either qualified nurses or exercise physiologists, all of whom have undergone a two-week full time training programme in performing health assessments. This includes training on the impact of nutrition and diet, alcohol consumption, exercise programming and the benefits of exercise, and the effects of smoking on health. They too are subject to ongoing performance appraisals.

We have a robust complaints policy

We are always pleased to hear about aspects of our service that you have particularly appreciated. We also want to hear about any problems you have experienced, so that we can deal with them speedily and improve our service for the future.

If something goes wrong, here's a simple procedure to ensure that your concerns are dealt with quickly and effectively. If you have a complaint about any aspect of our service, we would like to address this straightaway. If possible therefore, please speak to a member of staff at the centre. All centres have a complaints handler who has had specific training. Or you may prefer to talk to the centre manager.

If we cannot satisfactorily resolve your concern there and then and you wish to make a complaint by telephone or in writing, please call or write to the centre manager.

We will aim to give you a written acknowledgement of your complaint within 24 hours of receipt. A full response will be made within 20 working days. All complaints are dealt with confidentially and impartially.

If required, your complaint will be referred to the regional manager and may be escalated to the managing director.

We keep a record of every complaint and look at how many we receive and the reasons. We use this information along with our customer surveys to help make sure we continually improve the service we provide.

This procedure does not affect your legal rights.

ISO accreditation

Bupa Wellness is accredited under the ISO9001:2000 quality management system. As part of this, we operate a stringent quality checks with full internal audit of all procedures. All clinical and non-clinical staff also undergo regular appraisals.

How does a Bupa health assessment differ from visiting my normal NHS GP? Hide

• Generally, you only see your GP for treatment when you are ill or unwell. Bupa staff are specially trained in looking after the needs of well people and our doctors offer plenty of time in a relaxed environment to discuss your general health and wellbeing.
• We look for abnormalities in your test results that may indicate a risk of future illness.
• You are able to discuss the majority of your test results with the Bupa doctor during your health assessment. At the end of your assessment you will receive a fully personalised report and action plan to keep you in the best possible health for the future.
• Bupa has been offering health assessments since 1969 and has made major contributions to the growth and development of activities such as coronary risk factor assessment and breast screening. The service has evolved over the years. We believe we have the greatest expertise in the health assessment field, and take pride in ensuring all our staff undergo proper training to ensure your health assessment is as thorough as possible.
• The NHS offer mammography to women over 50, Bupa offer it to women over 40.
• The NHS offer a limited amount of screening, but usually you will only get one or two tests at a time. We perform up to 40 tests. If you were to pay for the same tests separately, the price would be considerably higher.

I eat healthily, exercise and feel fine. Why do I need a health assessment? Hide

While eating healthily and taking regular exercise can reduce your risk of disease, it cannot guarantee that you don't have any underlying health problems. A health assessment is an excellent way to have a clear picture of your current health and wellbeing, and helps to identify areas of risk in the future. Many conditions can be present with no obvious symptoms. They can be more successfully treated when detected early - regular checks could save your life.

For one in three people who come to us, we discover health issues they didn't know about. At an early stage, even serious conditions such as heart disease and cancer can be successfully treated and related problems are less likely to develop later on.

What are my risks of something being discovered? Hide

For 38 percent of customers we identify a health issue they were unaware of. Some of these may seem trivial – perhaps a mildly raised blood pressure, but if this is found early simple changes to lifestyle may mean that this will not progress to needing treatment, which may have side effects, or result in a complication or complex issue.

The following statistics are also reasons why we advise a pro-active approach to your health:

• breast cancer accounts for nearly 30 percent of all cancers
• the lifetime risk of men developing prostate cancer is 1 in 14. Currently 9,500 men die each year in the UK from this disease
• bowel cancer claims the lives of more than 16,000 people every year in the UK, but it can be cured if caught early enough
• each year there are 3,200 cases of cervical cancer diagnosed in women of all ages in the UK
• the most common form of cancer in men under 35 is testicular cancer, with cases increasing by 10 percent every five years
• 1 in 3 people will be diagnosed with cancer at some stage in their lives
• 80 percent of cancers could be avoided through changes in lifestyle and environment
• diabetes is estimated to affect one million people in the UK without their knowing
• heart disease causes 40 percent of deaths in the UK - the risks can be greatly reduced by lifestyle changes and early discovery
• if unchecked, high blood pressure can cause severe strain on you heart and other organs and may lead to heart disease
• every three minutes in the UK, more than one British adult dies from cardiovascular disease

Sources: Cancer Research UK, British Heart Foundation, NHS Direct and Diabetes UK

What do your customers say about their health assessment? Hide

A recent survey showed that the vast majority of Bupa customers found a health assessment a very positive experience:

• Over 80 percent of our customers rate our health assessments as good or excellent
• 90 percent said they would have another health assessment
• 86 percent said that Bupa Wellness cared about them as an individual
• Over 70 percent say their assessment prompted them to make positive changes to their lifestyle
• Over 90 percent feel more reassured about their health following their health assessment
• For a third of customers said that the assessment identified health issues of which they were unaware

And here's a selection of some of the comments that our customers have made following their health assessment: 

• "The consultation was tailored to my requirements and I felt there was plenty of time to discuss everything"
• "This was the third assessment received and each has been better than the previous. And although the assessment is carried out by a medical professional, it does not have the unsettling feeling of actually going to the doctors'
• "He put me immediately at ease, kept me relaxed and chatting through the tests, explained everything brilliantly as we went - he was very reassuring"
• "My PSA test showed a high level. I had no symptoms but I was later diagnosed with prostate cancer after a biopsy. The Bupa routine test may well have saved my life"
• "I was nervous when I arrived. I was immediately put at ease, I relaxed immediately and the assessment took place in a professional manner - and I received the peace of mind and advice I was looking for"
• "I've never been more relaxed and at ease in a hospital or doctor environment"
• "Everything was professional and all my questions were answered on the spot, which was reassuring. If I were to change job and this were not included in my package I would certainly pay for it myself"

What if I have an existing condition? Hide

Our doctors are all experienced practitioners and if you have health concerns you will be encouraged to discuss these with the Bupa doctor. However a health assessment is not suited to people seeking a specialist medical opinion about an existing condition.

Will having a health assessment affect my private medical insurance? Hide

No. If you already have private medical insurance - dependant on your level of cover - it may be used for any treatment or further investigation of problems detected during the assessment. If you do not have private medical insurance and a health concern is raised by the assessment, you may wish to declare this when taking out private medical insurance. Results and personal details are not disclosed to any other part of Bupa or third party without your consent. Bupa Wellness retains all medical records.

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