Men in Bradford are being urged to take their health more seriously and seek medical advice.

This week is Men’s Health Week and health bosses at Bradford District Care Trust are urging men and boys to look after themselves in a bid to reduce heart disease.

The annual awareness week runs in the week leading up to Father’s Day, with the aim to highlight preventable health problems and encourage the early detection and treatment of disease.

This year the week focuses on the single biggest killer of men – heart disease. Three times as many men as women die from heart disease before their 75th birthday.

Bradford District Care Trust, which provides community health, mental health and social care services for people across the district, is one of the only NHS trusts in the country to have a team dedicated to and specialising in men’s health.

The Health Of Men (HOM) team was set up to educate, motivate and improve the health of men and boys. Qualified nurses and community health professionals provide assessments, give advice, and in some cases provide treatment.

They do this outside traditional health settings including workplaces, barbershops, a variety of social and leisure settings, sporting clubs and various educational environments The team tries to tackle heart disease through a health MoT initiative, which consists of physical checks including cholesterol, blood glucose, blood pressure and weight measurements.

Over the last 12 months, the team has reached more than 1,500 men and provided either a full health MoT or a mini version, depending on the needs of the individual.

Andrew Harrison, team leader for HOM, said: “Some men take for granted that an annual test of safety and road worthiness is essential for their car – in a similar vein we hope that men will care for and look after their own bodies.”

The HOM team can also help with anger management, sex and relationship education, tackling bullying behaviour, sexual health, smoking cessation, performance and image enhancing drugs and counselling.

To find out more about the services offered by the HOM team, visit bdct.nhs.uk/healthofmen.

Director for public health at NHS North of England, Paul Johnstone, added: “There is a very real culture amongst a lot of men in Yorkshire about not complaining and not going to see the doctor; this is what we want to change.

“By ignoring a problem there is every possibility that you could be making it worse, so our advice is, don’t be shy, get things checked early before they become a problem.”