Full Health Check in London 2026. What a Complete Health Assessment Should Test, What It Costs and What Is Not Worth Paying For

Written By Dr Jones

A full health check is an assessment for people who feel well, designed to find the problems that cause no symptoms until they are expensive to fix. The evidence is clear on what makes one worthwhile. When general health checks are offered to whole populations without regard to risk, a Cochrane review of 17 trials and around 250,000 people found no reduction in deaths. What works is targeted testing, chosen for your age, sex, family history and risk, and read by a doctor who acts on the result. The conditions that matter most are common and silent. Millions of UK adults have high blood pressure without knowing it, more than 1 million are estimated to have undiagnosed type 2 diabetes, around 1 in 5 people carry a raised lipoprotein(a) that no standard cholesterol test reports, and fatty liver affects roughly 1 in 5 adults. The NHS Health Check covers the basics every 5 years between 40 and 74. At the top of the London market, MRI-led programmes exceed £15,000 and the most extensive exceed £32,000. At The Wellness in Marylebone you are assessed first, the right tests are arranged at an accredited laboratory and specialist imaging centres, and every result is explained to you, from the Comprehensive Blood Panel at £495 to the Executive Health Programme at £11,995. Fees appear further down this page.

Reviewed by the medical team at The Wellness. Last updated 30 September 2026.

Book a full health check on WhatsApp or email team@thewellnesslondon.com or call 020 3951 3429.

What is a full health check

A full health check is a structured assessment of the systems most likely to cause problems later in life, carried out before anything goes wrong, so that problems are found while they are small and simple to treat.

In medical terms it is a preventive health assessment. A good one has 3 parts. A detailed history, including family history, which is often the single most useful piece of information. A physical examination with measurements such as blood pressure, waist and heart rhythm. And tests chosen for you rather than taken from a fixed menu.

What turns a health check from a list of numbers into something useful is the fourth part, which many providers leave out. A doctor who interprets the results with you and arranges what happens next.

Does a health check actually help

It depends on how it is done, and the honest answer matters because it decides what you should buy.

The Cochrane review led by Krogsbøll pooled 17 randomised trials of general health checks offered to whole populations. It found no effect on overall deaths, cardiovascular deaths or cancer deaths. The checks in those trials were untargeted, offered to everyone regardless of risk, and often not followed through.

Targeted screening is a different proposition. Finding and treating high blood pressure, raised cholesterol and diabetes prevents strokes and heart attacks, which is well established in large trials. The value comes from testing the right person for the right thing and acting on the answer.

What should a full health check include

A proper history and examination come first. Family history of early heart disease, cancer, diabetes or dementia changes which tests are worth doing, and blood pressure measured correctly is still one of the most valuable numbers in medicine.

Heart and circulation. A lipid profile, and beyond it apolipoprotein B, which counts the particles that actually cause arterial plaque, and lipoprotein(a), which is genetically set and is raised in around 1 in 5 people. HEART UK recommends measuring lipoprotein(a) at least once in adult life. A 10-year risk score such as QRISK3 puts those numbers in context.

Blood sugar. HbA1c reflects average glucose over roughly 3 months and identifies prediabetes, which is the stage at which change is most effective. Fasting insulin can add a measure of insulin resistance.

Liver and kidneys. Liver enzymes alone miss much fatty liver disease, so a fibrosis score such as FIB-4 is calculated where appropriate. Kidney function is checked with eGFR and a urine albumin test, which picks up early damage from blood pressure and diabetes.

Blood count, iron and vitamins. A full blood count, ferritin, vitamin B12, folate and vitamin D, which together explain a large share of unexplained tiredness.

Thyroid, hormones and PSA where they are indicated. Thyroid function when there are symptoms or risk factors. Hormone testing when the history points to it. PSA for men after an informed discussion, as the NHS Prostate Cancer Risk Management Programme recommends.

Imaging only where it is justified. Ultrasound of a specific organ, a coronary calcium score, or bone density scanning are valuable in the right person and not in everyone.

Ask what your health check should include on WhatsApp or email team@thewellnesslondon.com.

What is not worth paying for

Whole-body MRI in people without symptoms. Reviews covering more than 5,000 participants have not shown that it improves outcomes, and it regularly produces incidental findings that lead to further scans, biopsies and anxiety. The Royal College of Radiologists has cautioned about this for years.

Tumour markers such as CA-125 and CEA as a general screen. They were developed to monitor known cancers, and in well people they produce false alarms far more often than they find disease.

Food intolerance IgG panels, biological age scores and vitamin drips. None has a validated role in a health check, and several are marketed on the strength of numbers that do not change any medical decision.

A test that would not change what you do next. Every extra test in a healthy person carries a chance of an abnormal result that means nothing. We leave out tests that fail this standard, even when they would add to the bill.

Which NHS screening should you keep having

A private health check sits alongside NHS screening, never instead of it. Bowel screening with a home FIT kit is offered every 2 years from age 50 to 74 in England. Cervical screening runs from 25 to 64. Breast screening runs from 50 to 71. Men are invited for abdominal aortic aneurysm screening at 65.

The NHS Health Check, offered every 5 years between 40 and 74, measures blood pressure, cholesterol, weight and diabetes risk. It is worth having. What it does not include is ApoB, lipoprotein(a), liver fibrosis scoring, iron, vitamins, detailed hormone testing or any imaging, and there is no same-day discussion of what your results mean.

How often should you have a full health check

For most healthy adults under 40 with no family history, a baseline once, then every 3 to 5 years, is reasonable. From 40, when heart disease, diabetes and fatty liver become more common, every 1 to 2 years is more useful because the trend over time says more than a single result.

Sooner if something changes. New symptoms, a new diagnosis in a parent or sibling, starting a new medicine, or significant weight change are all reasons to recheck rather than wait.

What does a full health check cost in London

At the top of the London market, the most extensive full-body MRI packages exceed £32,000, Echelon Health's MRI-led programmes reach beyond £15,000 at their highest tier, and Randox packages extend past £4,000. The most complete assessments from Bupa and Nuffield Health sit at roughly £1,100 to £1,200. Entry-level checks from high-street and mobile providers cost less, and are often run without a doctor.

At The Wellness every programme includes your assessment, the tests chosen for you, and an appointment in which every result is explained. All figures are from prices.

  • Continuous Care, 12 months of assessment, testing and doctor access, from £24,995.

  • Executive Health Programme, the most comprehensive single assessment, from £11,995.

  • Executive Body Scan, from £5,995. Body scan programmes and the Baseline Assessment, from £3,495.

  • Complete Biomarker Assessment, over 100 markers with consultation, from £1,400.

  • Comprehensive Blood Panel with consultation and interpretation, from £495.

  • Targeted Blood Panel, from £295. In-person consultation, 30 minutes with examination, from £220.

Appointments are usually available the same week, and tests can often be completed in a single day where diaries allow.

Why The Wellness sets the standard for health checks in London

Because the test list is built around you. Your history and examination decide what is tested, so you pay for the markers that could change a decision rather than a fixed menu.

Because every result is explained. You leave with what each number means, what needs action and what does not, in an appointment rather than a portal.

Because we own no scanner and no laboratory. There is no equipment to keep busy, so imaging is recommended only when it would change management, and is performed at the London centre best equipped for the question and reported by a consultant radiologist.

Because we tell you what not to buy. Whole-body scans for well people, IgG panels and biological age scores are left out on the evidence, which is why the tests we do recommend can be trusted.

And because a finding leads somewhere the same week. Treatment starts, a follow-up test is booked, or a referral goes to a named consultant with the appointment arranged.

Related reading

The best blood tests in London explains which markers are worth paying for, comprehensive blood test and biomarkers covers the Complete Biomarker Assessment in detail, executive health screening covers the full programme, and how we practise medicine sets out the evidence standards behind every recommendation.

Book your full health check today on WhatsApp or call 020 3951 3429.

Frequently asked questions

What is included in a full health check

A good full health check includes a detailed history and examination, blood pressure, a lipid profile with ApoB and lipoprotein(a), HbA1c, liver and kidney tests, a full blood count, ferritin, B12, folate and vitamin D, with thyroid, hormones, PSA and imaging added where your history points to them.

How much is a full health check in London

The most extensive MRI-led programmes in London exceed £15,000, and top tiers exceed £32,000. The most complete Bupa and Nuffield Health assessments sit at roughly £1,100 to £1,200. At The Wellness the Comprehensive Blood Panel with consultation is from £495, the Complete Biomarker Assessment from £1,400 and the Executive Health Programme from £11,995.

Is a private health check worth it

A targeted check, chosen for your risk and followed through by a doctor, finds treatable problems such as high blood pressure, diabetes, raised lipoprotein(a) and fatty liver early. Untargeted checks offered to everyone have not been shown to reduce deaths, which is why the choice of tests matters.

Is the NHS Health Check enough

It is worth having and covers blood pressure, cholesterol, weight and diabetes risk every 5 years from 40 to 74. It does not include ApoB, lipoprotein(a), liver fibrosis scoring, iron, vitamins, hormone testing or imaging.

Should a full health check include a full body scan

Not routinely. Reviews of whole-body MRI in people without symptoms have not shown better outcomes, and incidental findings are common. Targeted imaging of a specific organ is valuable when your history or results justify it.

How often should I have a full health check

A baseline once and then every 3 to 5 years is reasonable for most healthy adults under 40. From 40, every 1 to 2 years is more useful, and sooner if symptoms, family history or medication change.

The Wellness is a doctor-led private healthcare group providing medical care from 10 Portman Square, Marylebone, adjacent to Harley Street. All doctors are GMC-registered. Imaging is arranged at specialist centres and reported by consultant radiologists, and blood analysis is performed by accredited laboratories. In an emergency call 999. This article is general information and not a substitute for medical advice about your own health.

Enquire now on WhatsApp or email team@thewellnesslondon.com or call 020 3951 3429.

References

Dr Jones
Previous

Private Urgent Care in London 2026. When You Can Avoid A&E, What Each Option Costs and How to Be Seen Fastest
Next

Sleep Apnea Test in London: When Snoring Needs a Proper Assessment