I’ve finally found a health MOT that works: The Mail’s DR MAX PEMBERTON has always dismissed full-body scans… but now reveals the one everyone should get

I’ll be honest – I wasn’t particularly keen on the idea. A full-body health scan? At my age? I’m 46, eat properly, I don’t smoke, I’m generally sensible about these things.

So when I was invited to try the new Neko Health clinic that’s just opened in Liverpool Street in London, I wasn’t too enthusiastic.

Journalists get offered these kind of things all the time and I usually decline them as they are typically out of the price range of most people. They are also often have dubious evidence for their actual value.

The problem with blanket screening of otherwise fit and healthy people is that it can pick up things that actually don’t pose a risk to someone’s health.

Yet because these incidental findings – benign growths, anatomical variations and so on, or ‘incidentalomas’ – have been spotted, they need to be investigated.

So people then have to undergo more invasive investigations (and if done privately, added costs, too), when all along the thing that’s been picked up posed no danger.

What interested me about Neko, though, and why I agreed to submit myself to its assessment, was that it offers something quite different.

It’s not a blanket all-over body scan and it’s not going on a wild goose chase trying to find something wrong with you.

Our columnist tries out the new Neko Health clinic for a variety of tests and scans, including this hand strength test 

Dr Max gets comfortable as he has his blood taken, which will be sent off for a speedy analysis 

It’s about prevention – analysing dozens of blood markers alongside cardiovascular measurements and skin imaging to spot areas that need improvement before they become problems. Standard private health MOTs check the basics; Neko digs deeper.

The idea is simple: catch problems before they become crises.

Preventative medicine, in other words – something every doctor bangs on about but that the NHS, frankly, hasn’t got the time or resources to deliver.

And the logic is compelling. According to the British Medical Association, the care of people living with often preventable, long-term conditions makes up around 50 per cent of GP appointments and 70 per cent of hospital bed occupancy.

This is like servicing your car regularly instead of waiting for the engine to explode on the M25.

The idea is that people are given advice and guidance on what lifestyle changes to make – and then return yearly to see how things have improved.

This approach piqued my interest – as did the fact that at £299, Neko’s programme is relatively cheap.

There was also the fact that the past year for me has been brutal. I’ve been writing a book, travelling a lot giving talks and chairing conferences, alongside the usual relentless demands of working full-time in the NHS.

And somewhere along the way, the gym membership has gathered dust and the late nights at my desk have become the norm.

Dr Max prepares for the Neko skin scanner, which finds he has 812 marks on his skin

A view of the tissue scanning that is part of the Neko experience Dr Max tried out

So, with some trepidation, I agreed to give it a go and this is how I find myself at the Neko Health centre about to strip down to my underpants.

The first thing that strikes me is how utterly un-medical it feels. No stale waiting room smell. No ancient magazines. No grumpy receptionist. It’s all sleek design, soft lighting and a calming lemony-yellow colour scheme, more Scandinavian spa than GP surgery – not surprising given it was founded by Daniel Ek, the Swedish billionaire behind Spotify.

After registering, I’m taken upstairs and given space-age rubber slippers and a pale lemon robe. Everything is absurdly well designed – if the NHS looked like this, people might actually want to visit their GP. (Mind you, the NHS has rather bigger fish to fry – like seeing patients within the same year they booked their appointment.)

A smiley nurse explains that I’ll undergo a series of tests and scans designed to build up a comprehensive picture of my cardiovascular and metabolic health, plus a detailed examination of my skin.

Skin health is particularly relevant to me – I have a strong family history of skin cancer, something that worries me, especially as I’ve already had a BCC (basal cell carcinoma, a type of non-malignant skin cancer) twice – that the NHS never offered to monitor routinely (I had them removed privately, though my NHS GP was involved).

Down to my underpants, I step into what looks like a sci-fi pod – the skin scanner: the door slides shut and a soothing voice tells me to close my eyes. There’s a sudden, incredibly bright flash.

The technology – high-resolution 2D and 3D photography combined with thermal imaging – captures every mark, mole and blemish on my body. I turn around. Another flash. Done.

In those few seconds, it’s catalogued all the marks on my skin. I have 812 of them, I learn.

Dr Max arrives at the main reception of the Neko Health centre in Liverpool Street in London 

He waits for his scan in a modern-looking lounge – and is even given special slippers to wear

Then it’s a whirlwind. Blood pressure on both arms and both legs – to check the early signs of artery disease. An ECG provides detailed cardiovascular measurements – mapping how my heart’s pumping. A scan designed by Neko on my forearm monitors how blood’s moving through my arteries, veins and capillaries.

Grip strength tests on both hands. Blood samples whisked off through a vacuum tube in the ceiling, bound for the lab upstairs to check a range of markers for things such as my kidney function. My eye pressure is checked for glaucoma.

Of course some of the checks, such as the ECG, blood tests and blood pressure are offered on the NHS, but this is more in-depth: the volume of data is staggering – within half an hour, Neko has collected more data about my body than my GP surgery has managed in the past decade.

This isn’t a criticism of my GP – they’re working within a system that simply doesn’t have the time or resources for this kind of comprehensive assessment.

But it does highlight just how reactive, rather than proactive, the NHS has become.

The thousands of individual data points from all the tests I’ve taken are then crunched by AI to outline my health and identify areas of concern.

The speed of this number crunching is also impressive: within ten minutes of finishing my tests, Dr Sam Rodgers – a GP who works in the NHS part-time but is here because he believes so passionately in preventative medicine – has an analysis ready.

This, I realise, is the real value. Not just the tests themselves, but having proper time to sit down with a doctor and understand what they mean.

Part of the procedure involves Dr Max having his eye pressure taken

After the tests, Dr Max sits down with a doctor to go through all the results 

I was with him for an hour. When did any of us last get an hour with a GP?

My results are mostly positive, which is gratifying if slightly anticlimactic. I allow myself a brief moment of smugness before Dr Rodgers moves to the less flattering findings.

While my blood pressure, cholesterol and blood sugar control are essentially very good, my grip strength is poor. Lower than 80 per cent of my peers on the left, 60 per cent on the right.

He asks, gently, about my exercise routine. I’m forced to admit I’ve rather let it slide.

He explains that the strength in your hands is closely related to the strength of muscles elsewhere in your body. The recommendation is clear: restart strength training. It’s a wake-up call.

I also have a slightly raised CRP reading – a marker of inflammation that can indicate cardiovascular risk. But Dr Rodgers contextualises it carefully. I’ve recently had a scalp infection, which would explain it.

The skin images are extraordinary. Every mark and mole flashes up on screen in absurd detail – I can literally see individual hair follicles. Each one is measured and analysed: colour, diameter, asymmetry, border characteristics.

A dermatologist reviews anything flagged as concerning. This has happened by the time you see the doctor. There’s now a permanent record of every spot on my body, creating a baseline to catch any changes immediately. 

The real benefit comes from returning annually – to spot any changes early but equally, track the improvements you’ve made.

You get a much more nuanced monitoring of trends than you would at general check-ups five years apart, as offered in the NHS from the age of 40.

What strikes me most is how empowering this is.

I leave with a clear understanding of where my health stands – each metric comes with explanations (why it matters, what different results mean) and specific recommendations for improvement and access to an online portal where I can review everything at leisure.

I’d like to think the NHS could learn from that but I think we’re a long way off from it ever being able to offer this kind of comprehensive, in-depth assessment.

Is it worth the £299? For the dozens of tests, comprehensive blood analysis and a full hour with a doctor explaining everything, I’d say yes.

For context, standalone mole mapping at a private clinic would cost you at least that much without any of the other tests.

Because the visit is considered a medical check, health data is stored in compliance with government regulations. Patients can also request deletion of their data at any time.

My only gripe is the long waiting list – 10,000-people long, though apparently the wait is still only a few months.

Stepping back on to Liverpool Street afterwards, I feel genuinely energised. I’ve got a clear picture of where my health stands and what I need to do about it.

More than that, I’ve been reminded that preventative medicine isn’t just good practice – it’s transformative. This is what the NHS should be doing.

Now, about those grip exercises…

Free NHS checks to keep tabs on your health 

If going private is not for you, here are some of free checks available on the NHS:

General Health MOT 

Designed to spot early signs of stroke, kidney disease, heart disease, type 2 diabetes or dementia, this is offered every five years to those aged 40-74 with no pre-existing health conditions. As well as asking about lifestyle and family history, the nurse will measure your height, weight, blood pressure and give you a blood test to check cholesterol levels.

Cervical screening 

This is offered to women aged 25-64, every three to five years, to check for abnormalities that could lead to cervical cancer. Cells are collected from the cervix using a brush, then sent to be tested for signs of HPV.

Breast cancer

Women aged 50-71 are offered a mammogram, a form of X-ray of the breast every three years. Mammograms can detect breast tumours, especially in women aged 50 and older when breast tissue becomes less dense.

Bowel cancer

Screening via a stool sample is offered every two years to all aged 50-74. Over-75s can request it by calling the NHS on 0800 707 60 60. This is undertaken via a FIT (faecal immunochemical test) which is sent in the post – the stool sample is then tested for signs of blood, which can be an early sign of bowel cancer.

Prostate cancer

You can ask your GP for a blood test if you’re over 45 and in an at-risk group (of black heritage or have a family history, for instance) or if you are aged over 50.

Lung cancer

High-risk people (for example, smokers) aged 55-75 can be screened for lung cancer – this involves having an injection of dye before a scan (usually a CT scan), which shows any nodules or inflammation.

Abdominal aortic aneurysm

Men over 65 are offered ultrasound screening for abdominal aortic aneurysm – a swelling of the main blood vessel in the body. Most do not cause problems but, if they burst, they can be deadly. Men are six times more likely to have an abdominal aortic aneurysm than women.

Osteoporosis

A DEXA bone density scan is available if you’re over 50 and at high risk of osteoporosis (such as post-menopause) or under 50 with other risk factors (such as smoking).