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Free health check helped man turn life around

Patrick O'Hagan and Stuart RustSouth of England
News imageBBC Wassim Chokri is sat opposite a woman at the new Community Wellness Outreach centre in Reading. The woman, who is wearing a blue fleece with the NHS logo, is preparing to do some tests on Chokri as part of a health check. She is holding a device and showing it to Chokri. BBC
Reading's Community Wellness Outreach project targets people who have not had a doctor's appointment in years

Just 18 months ago, Wassim Chokri was overweight, drinking heavily and struggling with depression and anxiety.

But after deciding to have a free check-up as part of a health initiative in Reading, he was able to turn his life around.

Reading's Community Wellness Outreach (CWO) project aims to reduce health inequality by targeting people who have not been seen by a doctor in years.

It has supported more than 4,000 people and has now opened a new centre in the Broad Street Mall.

News imageWassim Chokri, a dark-haired man with a short beard, looks in the direction of the camera. He's wearing a black jacket with a large collar over a white T-shirt.
Wassim Chokri said he was drinking up to 20 pints of Guinness each weekend before having his health check

Chokri said he knew he needed to make a change when he first saw the team at CWO.

"I was having 15, 20 pints of Guinness every weekend. I was eating quite badly, not going to the gym, not doing anything like this, and basically just making bad decisions," he said.

"I was suffering a lot from depression and anxiety. I wanted to change my life, essentially. I wanted to do something different."

Since that initial check-up, Chokri lost five stone, quit drinking and improved his mental health.

He said the project helped give him back his health - without any of the downsides he had anticipated.

Chokri said: "I was worried that I would lose a bit of the social side in terms of the people I go out drinking with. But a lot of them are giving me pats on the back and saying 'well done'."

CWO aims to catch preventable illnesses in vulnerable communities.

Appointments are not required, meaning anyone over the age of 18 can drop in and be checked for signs of high blood pressure, diabetes and heart disease.

The team provides practical support and can offer medication.

It is a joint initiative between Reading Borough Council, Royal Berkshire Hospital, local GPs and Reading Voluntary Action.

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