When Tim Hall strolls the few streets to his local after work, he is usually looking for nothing more taxing than a few pints and a relaxing chat with his mates. But today, propping up the bar at The Traveller's Rest in Macclesfield, Cheshire, the 40-year-old cleaner has found a healthier option on offer.
Amid the booze and banter, he slips on a blood pressure cuff, ready for his first encounter with a health worker. As well as a confidential cholesterol, weight and blood sugar level check, he will also be offered advice about drinking, as part of a pioneering project to bring men's health services to the place where many feel most relaxed - the pub.
Two pre-booked sessions, each offering 15 appointments and staffed by two health workers, are being held at the pub as a pilot, in the run-up to Christmas.
Posters and mirrors with the scheme's slogan, "Drink A Little Less, See A Better You", are on the walls, alongside notices about darts matches and karaoke nights. Hall and his fellow regulars are being offered discounted soft drinks, shandies and even hot toast to limit the amount of alcohol they drink.
Hall, who is married and has a 13-year-old daughter, says: "This isn't exactly my normal night out, but I suppose that's the point – it's making you think. Like a lot of men, I can't tell you the last time I went to the doctor's. I've wanted to get my cholesterol checked for a while, but I wouldn't make an appointment with my GP about it. It's just the way men are. It's easier to talk to someone here. It feels a lot less intimidating."
Devised by the Cheshire and Merseyside Public Health Network (ChaMPs), and backed by regional brewery Robinsons, which is allowing its premises to be used and discounting non-alcoholic drinks, the initiative highlights the needs of what the network sees as an overlooked group of drinkers: working-class men aged 35-55.
The network's research found examples of men in this group who consume between five to 10 pints a day, but who are unaware of the health risks.
"This is a long-term problem, and something we have to address now," says Heather Grimbaldeston, the region's director of public health. "Rather than telling people not to go to the pub and not to drink at all, we wanted to modify their behaviour in there. If people swap even one pint for a soft drink a night, that can mean a huge reduction of their weekly units."
Nationally, the NHS spends £3bn a year addressing our doomed love affair with drink. In Cheshire, alcohol-related illness and injuries have cost the region £31.5m this year alone – £100 per person. With this in mind, ChaMPs has been looking for ways to promote safer drinking. If this works, it hopes to get other local pubs involved, and even to roll it out nationally.
As he waits for the results of his tests, Hall admits to feeling a little nervous. "I'm just hoping I don't get any nasty surprises," he laughs. "I like a drink like anyone does, so you do wonder how it affects your health. It's something we all need to be aware of."
