Free health research clinic to open in North Wales advising people on risk of future diseases

Inside an Our Future Health mobile clinic
-Credit: (Image: Edward Shaw/OFH)


The UK’s largest health research programme is to open its first clinic in North Wales. People who volunteer will be offered information about their health, including their blood pressure and cholesterol levels. In future, they will also be able to discover more about their risk of some diseases.

The clinics are run by the Our Future Health (OFH) project and dozens are already operating in England and Scotland. A collaboration between the public sector, life sciences companies and UK health charities, the project aims to improve the prevention, detection and treatment of conditions such as dementia, cancer, diabetes, heart disease, asthma and stroke.

In November, clinics will open in Wrexham and Swansea, with exact locations yet to be confirmed. Three more will operate from Boots stores in Bridgend, Cardiff and Merthyr Tydfil from September 24.

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The OFH project plans to have opened “around 20 clinics” across Wales by September 2025. Together, they will offer more than 70,000 appointments over the coming 12 months. The programme will be sending invitations to people who live near the new clinics.

Sir Frank Atherton, Chief Medical Officer for Wales, is backing the roll-out in the country. So too is Prof Kieran Walshe, director of Health and Care Research Wales, who called it a “pioneering programme”.

He added: “During the pandemic, we saw the power of a collective effort to find solutions to tackle Covid-19. Our Future Health galvanises the same power by asking volunteers across Wales to participate, to better understand a range of health conditions which will lead to prevention, earlier diagnosis and more targeted treatments.”

More than 1.5m UK volunteers have already signed up for the project. At the clinics, they give blood samples and physical measurements are taken, enabling researchers to discern disease patterns at a population level. The North Wales Live Whatsapp community for top stories and breaking news is live now - here’s how to sign up

Some clinics operate from mobile units, others from pharmacies
Some clinics operate from mobile units, others from pharmacies -Credit:Edward Shaw/OFH

According to the OFH project, the number of Welsh adults with a major illness is estimated to increase by more than a third in the coming years. By 2040, 556,000 people in Wales could have serious conditions – up by 137,000 since 2019. The proportion of people affected is predicted to rise from almost one in six in 2019 to nearly one in five by 2040.

Rhodri Thomas, head of British Heart Foundation Cymru, said: “The opportunity to use health data for research will help us to better understand heart and circulatory disease, which currently affects around 340,000 people in Wales. In addition, the information collected could help us find new ways to prevent, detect and fight these devastating diseases earlier.”

In the future, volunteers will be given the option to receive feedback about their risk of some diseases. They will also have the chance to take part in cutting-edge research studies.

Anyone over the age of 18 can join by signing up online at ourfuturehealth.org.uk. They will be asked to complete an online health questionnaire and to book a short clinic appointment.

The OFH project is working with the health care system in Wales, including health boards. People who want to volunteer but don’t live near a clinic can still sign up with at ourfuturehealth.org.uk – they will be notified when new locations become available.

Our Future Health said “many people across Wales have previously registered”. It is promising to protect participants’ confidentiality: volunteers’ data is “de-identified”, held securely and is only available to registered researchers.

Clinic locations can be viewed on an interactive map here. Sign up for the North Wales Live newsletter sent twice daily to your inbox

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