Free checks are all heart

The Keep Well project was launched several years ago and runs from various GP practices in some of the area’s most deprived communities.

It was introduced because people with lower income levels were deemed not only to have poorer cardiac health but were less likely to have contact with a doctor if there were concerns.

As a result, thousands have received the free check, with NHS Lothian chiefs saying it has made a positive impact in closing the gap on health inequalities, a problem which is particularly bad in the Lothians.