HEALTH MOT EVERY 5 YRS; Checks for all over-40s.

Byline: BOB ROBERTS

ALL people over 40 will have a guaranteed right to a full health check every five years under plans to be unveiled today.

The "body MoT" could save millions of people from killer illnesses, a senior Government source said.

He added: "From April 2012, we want everyone between 40 and 74 to have the legal right to an NHS Health Check every five years.

"It will assess risk of heart disease, stroke, diabetes and kidney disease.

"And, by identifying these risks early, the NHS Health Check will mean patients can get help to stay healthy and reduce the incidence of these conditions.

"Turning targets into legal rights will give power to patients and guarantee them the same high standards of care, regardless of where they live."

If hospitals fail to meet their legal obligations, they will be forced to offer treatment at private units.

As the plan is outlined today in a consultation paper, Gordon Brown and Health Secretary Andy Burnham will say they want to put the NHS at the centre of next year's general election campaign.

They will insist only Labour aims to convert NHS targets into legally binding guarantees for NHS patients.

Mr Burnham has already announced plans to give people the right to see a specialist within 18 weeks of a referral from a GP.

And there will be a similar right to be seen by a cancer specialist within two weeks of being sent by a GP.

The source said: "Waiting times are the shortest they have ever been but we want to give patients a legal right to maximum waiting times.

"If the NHS cannot deliver on time, it must take steps to offer a range of alternative providers who can."

A source close to Mr Burnham said they would legislate within months to turn some of the rights into law.

Ministers also plan to ask for views on giving "the right to die at home".

They said people should know they could still get the best care even if they decided to spend their last days in their own rooms.

Voice of the Mirror: Page 8

STROKE

Stroke is the largest single cause of severe disability in this country. Each year more than 110,000 people in England will suffer from a stroke, which costs the NHS over pounds 2.8billion. The chance of having a stroke more than doubles for each decade after age 55.

DIABETES

Over 2.6 million people in the UK have diabetes but up to half a million people have the condition and don't know it. Type 2 diabetes is most common in adults over age 40, and the risk of getting it increases with age.

HEART DISEASE

Coronary heart disease is the UK's biggest killer, with one in every four men and one in every six women dying from the disease. The risk for heart disease universally increases with age.

KIDNEY DISEASE

Kidney disease is thought to affect between one and four people in every 1,000. The risk of developing chronic kidney disease increases with age. The average age of somebody with the condition is 77.

CAPTION(S):

NHS PLANS Andy Burnham