A picture of health

I’m sitting in a chair with a clip attached to my ear, breathing deeply.

Much of iHealth’s approach is about ruling out potential medical problems – using CT scans, ultrasounds and other diagnostic techniques – then providing advice on how to cope with life’s difficulties, not least workplace stress. This includes training in “non-violent communication” – learning how to dress-down colleagues without causing offence, for instance.

IHealth, which has centres dotted around the M25, claims to offer Britain’s most comprehensive inhouse health-check service. Hospitals have similar diagnostic tools, but do not offer the same level of musculoskeletal assessment.

IHeath tries to set itself apart from run-of-the-mill medical centres by boasting about its “five-star hotel-style facilities”. The giant fishtank in reception is soothing, but the hotel tag is a bit overblown. It is more serviced-office than luxury hotel. There are only so many ways of disguising a medical facility.

Another flaw with the iHealth approach is that its specialists – the ultrasound operators and radiologists – are NHS practitioners who moonlight at iHealth when needed. A medical emergency at their normal place of work can make them late turning up for appointments. At the prices charged, this can look amateurish.

My day featured assistants struggling to get to grips with new equipment and a radiographer who seemed non-plussed when I told him I was there for a health check. But the quality of the diagnostics – with the exception of the hearing test – was second-to-none, and I was the only person being seen that day.

IHealth’s hearing test uses a set of headphones plugged into a laptop computer, with the participant sitting on a chair in a normal office room. This is far from ideal.The test should be conducted in a soundproof booth since extraneous noise can interfere with the process.

The overall health-check results, including MRI and CT images, are collated in a large folder, which follows two to four weeks later.

Is it worth it? The convenience of doing everything in one day, with instant feedback, will appeal to time-challenged executives. The equipment is cutting edge, but the “luxury hotel” tag is pushing the point. The value lies in the quality of the diagnostics and the ability to investigate anomalies immediately, without continual trips to a hospital for follow-up tests. Learning how to fight jetlag is a welcome bonus.

µ www.ihealthltd.com