Liver Health Project

Liver Health Project

Harness North and Harness South PCN GP Practices in Brent are running a Liver Health Project, with NHS England.

Your GP may select you to have a Liver health check, if that happens, you will be invited to an appointment to find out more, please treat this as important.

Why is Harness doing this?

Every year, 6,000 people in England are diagnosed with Liver disease, but less than half are diagnosed early when treatment can help repair Liver damage or reduce the effects of the disease.

Anyone can develop Liver disease, but some people have other health issues which make it more likely. We are checking our records for those people and offering them a Liver health check-up.

The following GP surgeries are participating in the Liver Health Project:

What do you need to do?

You do not need to do anything if you are not contacted by your GP practice.

If you are contacted by your GP practice, please treat it as important and attend any appointments you are offered.

Your GP practice will contact you by text message or letter to let you know. Your GP will invite you to an appointment to explain why you have been selected and what will happen next.

You will be offered one or both of the following checks:

Blood tests
Blood tests help us understand more about the health of your liver. The tests may include an ELF test, to find out more about ELF click here.

FibroScan
A FibroScan is a type of ultrasound. It is a quick and pain-free test that measures your liver. To find out more about FibroScans click here.
What happens will depend on the results of your check. Some people will show signs of Liver health issues and they will be offered the following, depending on the issues the check finds.

Low Level Liver health issues.
You will be offered advice on improving the health of your liver and a regular check, frequency to be advised by your GP.

Higher level Liver health issues.
You will be referred for testing, treatment, and support at the London North West University Hospital Trust.

Some practices will carry out their own tests but you may be referred by your GP for a test at one of the following locations:
 
Park Royal Medical Practice.
Ground Floor, Central Middlesex Hospital, Acton Lane, London NW10 7NS.
To find out more about getting to Park Royal Medical Practice click here.

Wembley Centre for Health and Care (for blood tests only).
Ground floor, 116 Chaplin Road, Wembley, London HA0 4UZ.
To find out more about getting to Wembley Centre for Health and Care click here

Willow Tree Family Doctors (for FibroScans only).
343 Stag Lane, Kingsbury, London NW9 9AD.
To find out more about getting to Willow Tree Family Doctors click here.

Love your Liver

Anyone can develop Liver disease, but we can all do things easily to help keep our Liver healthy.

  1. Reduce your Alcohol intake.

Many of us drink a bit more than we should. Regularly drinking large amounts of alcohol can damage your liver. Try to stay within the recommended drinking limits

  1. Reduce your bodyweight and exercise regularly.

People who are overweight, obese, have type 2 diabetes, or low levels of activity can develop Liver disease. Try to manage your weight and take regular exercise

  1. Reduce your risk of getting viral Hepatitis.

People who have viral Hepatitis are at risk of developing Liver disease. You can take simple steps to reduce the risk of getting Hepatitis such as covering wounds, using a condom during sex, and not sharing razors, nail scissors, toothbrushes, and drug equipment. For more information on keeping your liver healthy, visit the British Liver Trust