Five new locations to join Our Future Health now open across the UK
Our Future Health aims to transform the prevention, detection and treatment of conditions such as dementia, cancer, diabetes, heart disease and stroke. With up to five million volunteers right across the UK, the goal is to create one of the most detailed pictures ever of people’s health.
Working in collaboration with NHS DigiTrials, the programme is sending invitation letters to people over 18 who live in these areas. Anyone over the age of 18 can join by signing up online, completing a questionnaire, providing a blood sample and allowing Our Future Health to securely link to their health records.
At their appointment, as well as having a blood sample and some physical measurements taken, volunteers will be offered information about their own health, including their blood pressure and cholesterol levels. In the future, people who join the programme will be given the option to receive feedback about their risk of diseases and also the opportunity to take part in cutting-edge research studies.
Seren Hughes, age 27, from Manchester has already joined Our Future Health.
She said: “I signed up to Our Future Health because I understand the importance of early prevention of disease.
“I was diagnosed with Stage 1 ovarian cancer when I was 19 years old. It was such a shock – I was in the first year of university at the time. In a way I was lucky: my doctors caught the cancer really early. If it had been left longer, the outcome could have been quite different. Due to what I’ve experienced with my own health, I want to be part of research, so that other people can benefit from new discoveries in healthcare.
“I found joining the programme to be great. By filling in the survey, you get a chance to reflect on your own health and wellbeing. My blood appointment was right around the corner, five minutes away from my home in Manchester. It was very easy – the two staff members who ran it were lovely.
“Just by doing this simple thing you can be part of something that’s really important.”
Dr Raghib Ali OBE, Chief Medical Officer at Our Future Health, said:
“This launch is a great moment for Our Future Health, making it more accessible than ever for people to take part in research. By making it easy to take part we hope to have a vast, diverse cohort of volunteers who can help us make discoveries that can benefit everyone.”
The new locations in Wolverhampton, Wigan, Keighley, Harrow and Havering join existing Our Future Health appointment hubs and selected Boots stores across the UK in welcoming more people to join the programme. Photos and videos of the mobile hubs can be downloaded here.
Our Future Health is rolling out on a region-by-region basis to invite adults across the UK to join the programme. Volunteers who don’t live near a location where Our Future Health appointments are currently taking place can register now to be notified when new appointment locations near them become available.
New locations will be announced on the Our Future Health website and social media channels.
Our Future Health is an ambitious collaboration between the public sector, life sciences companies and leading UK health charities including: Action Against Age-related Macular Degeneration, Alzheimer’s Society, Asthma + Lung UK, Blood Cancer UK, Breast Cancer Now, British Heart Foundation, Cancer Research UK, Diabetes UK, Kidney Research UK, Pancreatic Cancer UK, Parkinson’s UK, Prostate Cancer UK, Royal Osteoporosis Society and Stroke Association.
ENDS
Interviews available with spokespeople on request.
Images and videos, credit to Our Future Health, downloadable from here.
Contact: lucy.benson@ourfuturehealth.org.uk
Appointments in Wolverhampton will take place at: Asda Car Park, Molineux Way, Waterloo Road, Wolverhampton WV1 4DE
Appointments in Wigan will take place at: Asda Car Park, Soho Street, Robin Park Road, Wigan WN5 0XA
Appointments in Keighley will take place at: Asda Car Park, Bingley Street, Keighley BD21 3ER
Appointments in Harrow will take place at: Tesco Superstore Car Park, Station Road, Harrow, HA1 2TU
Appointments in Havering will take place at: Tesco Extra Car Park, Bridge Road, Rainham RM13 9YZ
Notes to editors:
About Our Future Health
Our Future Health is a collaboration between the public, private and charity sectors. It aims to be the UK’s largest health research programme, bringing people together to develop new ways to prevent, detect and treat disease.
Our Future Health is committed to the highest standards, policies and processes that protect participants’ confidentiality, whilst maximising the opportunity to help researchers to tackle serious diseases. Participants’ data will be de-identified and held securely in trusted research environments that meet strict security criteria. There will be a robust and transparent access process to ensure appropriate research access to Our Future Health data and samples for registered researchers. All researchers will be held to the same standards.
Our Future Health is a member of the UK Health Data Research Alliance, the independent alliance of leading healthcare and research organisations establishing best practice for the ethical use of UK health data for research at scale.
Our Future Health is a company limited by guarantee registered in England and Wales (number 12212468) and a charity registered with the Charity Commission for England and Wales (charity number 1189681) and OSCR, Scottish Charity Regulator (charity number SC050917).
About NHS DigiTrials
NHS DigiTrials, hosted by NHS Digital, offers data services to support clinical trials. We help reduce the time, effort and cost of developing new drugs, treatments and services, bringing benefits to patients, the public and the NHS.
Opt-out from receiving an invitation – People who have previously opted out of sharing health data for planning and research purposes, by submitting a National Data Opt-out, will not receive an invitation letter to join the programme via NHS Digital (who host the NHS DigiTrials service). People who do not want to receive an invitation letter from NHS Digital can opt out by completing the form on the NHS DigiTrials webpage.
To sign up follow this link – or see our website for more information.