Croydon is the second worst place in England for giving people the NHS Health Check and the council needs to do more to encourage people to get theirs done, according to a diabetes charity.

Diabetes UK’s NHS Health Checks in Local Authorities report says only 1.6 per cent of people aged 40 to 74 in the borough had the assessment done in the period March to December last year.

Only Surrey, with 0.3 per cent, reached fewer people.

The report covers the first time period for which councils have had responsibility for the programme, which used to be run by the NHS.

Roz Rosenblatt, the charity’s regional manager for London, said: “NHS Health Checks have the potential to make a big difference to the health of people in Croydon because letting people know they are at high risk of Type 2 diabetes is a crucial first step towards making the lifestyle changes that can help prevent it.

“We would really like to hear from the public health team about their plans to improve the uptake of NHS Health Checks over the next 12 months and to work with them on addressing any challenges they have identified.”

A Croydon Council said the council is working on getting more people to have the free health check.

He said: “We are working with GPs and pharmacies and this month launched a community service to contact hard-to-reach groups.

“And we recently ran a bus and tram poster campaign to remind our residents that they could be eligible for a free check.

“It is highly recommended people eligible have a health check, even if they are well, so they can act now and reduce the chance of developing common but often preventable diseases later in life.”

Go to croydon.gov.uk/nhshealthchecks for more details about health checks.