Goodbody Health (AQSE: GDBY) is pleased to announce that, following a successful pilot project using new technology to deliver accessible, fast (available in less than 10 minutes) blood test results in the local community, it has ordered a first tranche of 100 Abbott blood testing machines (the “Abbott Machines”) for its existing UK clinic network.

Using the Abbott Machines, Goodbody Health will administer blood tests with respect to lipids (heart / cholesterol) and diabetes through the Company’s clinics. By identifying issues relating to heart health and diabetes through its blood testing, the Company hopes to help customers take control through making healthy lifestyle changes and further the Company’s mission of helping people ‘know more, live better’.

According to Diabetes UK (https://www.diabetes.org.uk/professionals/position-statements-reports/statistics), more than 4.9 million people have diabetes in the UK with 850,000 currently living with Type 2 diabetes yet to be diagnosed. If nothing changes, they predict that 5.5 million people will have diabetes in the UK by 2023.

According to Public Health England (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/health-matters-preventing-cardiovascular-disease/health-matters-preventing-cardiovascular-disease), one in four deaths in England, based on data from 2016, was caused by cardiovascular disease. Following this report, Public Health England estimates ongoing Healthcare costs in England will amount to £7.4 billion per year.

In January, Parliament’s health and social care committee said the NHS faces an “unquantifiable challenge” to deal with patients who have not been treated because many have health conditions that have yet to be identified. Pointing to figures showing that 5.8 million patients are waiting for planned care like routine operations, he warned that the number “could double by 2025” and that the NHS faces an “unquantifiable challenge in tackling a backlog of cases caused by the pandemic”.

With the phase one rollout of the Abbott Machines, Goodbody Health will be able to offer blood testing in over 150 UK locations through its clinic network and its partnership with Superdrug.

Geremy Thomas, Executive Chairman, said: “I am pleased that we are able to use technology, in the local community, to offer customers the opportunity to undertake a fast health check of their blood, the results of which can enable them to make decisions to improve their lives.”

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