FIVE people from Bolton were named in the Queen’s New Year’s Honours List.

In the first of a five-part series, Julian Thorpe speaks to a local doctor who has more than made a difference to the borough

IDEAS crop up when people are in the strangest of places.

For Dr Stephen Liversedge who will this year receive an MBE, his eureka moment came when he was in the shower.

The GP came up with an idea which eventually transformed the health and extended the life expectancy of thousands of people in the borough.

The project, which came to be known as The BIG Bolton Health Check, remains unrivalled across the country in terms of its success.

A GP of 27 years’ experience, he conceived the scheme as part of his local health service management work for Bolton Primary Care Trust.

He was struck by the poor health record in Bolton, where people die two years earlier than the national average, and there is a 15 year life expectancy gap between the richest and poorest areas of the borough.

His solution was to give every person over 45 in Bolton a free health check to see if they were at risk of heart disease or diabetes.

Statistics showed that there were 89,000 people eligible for the programme, and Dr Liversedge and his team managed to reach 73,000 of them — a massive 82 per cent.

Dr Liversedge said that no similar schemes around the country had managed to reach more than 50 per cent of their target demographic.

He added that the reason for the Big Bolton Health check’s success was the hard work of his team — Lynda Helsby, Lesley Hardman and Lesley Jones.

He also gave particular thanks to the health trainers, GPs and practice nurses and staff who put the scheme into operation — and The Bolton News for its awareness-raising campaign.

He said: “It got into the Bolton vocabulary. You could ask almost everyone in Bolton over 45 if they’d heard of the Big Bolton Health Check and they’d say yes.”

The check revealed 900 cases of diabetes, 2,000 people with reduced liver function and 2,000 people with blood pressure problems. All cases were previously undiagnosed and the action taken as a result was potentially life-saving.

Dr Liversedge said he was delighted to be given the honour but said it was a shame an award could not be given to the whole BIG Bolton Health Check team.

He said: “It’s fantastic — a recognition for the team. It’s always a bit invidious to pick someone out, but I’m pleased and proud. It was quite thrilling to hear.

“I’ve had to keep it quiet for six weeks. You just get a little smile thinking about it. My wife found the letter, but no one else knew until it came out in The Bolton News.”

Dr Liversedge is no stranger to teamwork; he is keen cricketer and footballer, and describes himself as “obsessed with sport”.

He has a long involvement with Edgworth Cricket Club, which he captained to two Bolton and District championships in the 1980s.

A slow left arm spinner, he continued as a coach and a manager after retiring as a player, winning another championship during his four-year tenure.

He has also served as club chairman, secretary and bar manager.

His love of sport also extends to football, having played in the centre of midfield for Turton FC.

Dr Liversedge was born in Manchester, but grew up in Bolton, living in Bromley Cross until 1951, when he moved to Edgworth.

He went to Beech house Primary School, part of Bolton School, before going to The Craig preparatory school in the Lake District.

He started at Winchester College, a secondary boarding school, when he was 13, which helped him gain entry to University College, Oxford, where he studied natural sciences.

Dr Liversedge followed in his father’s footsteps, a consultant neurologist at the Royal Manchester Infirmary, in taking up medicine.

He completed his medical training at the University College Hospital medical school in London — also his first place of work as house physician in 1975.

He then completed stints at Middlesex Hospital, Hope Hospital in Salford, the Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital and Pendlebury Hospital.

His first GP work was as a GP registrar at Eccles Health Centre, before moving into his own practice in Egerton and Dunscar Health Centre, in Darwen Road, Bromley Cross, in 1982, where he is still based.

Now his time is divided equally between the health centre and management work for the Primary Care Trust.

julian.thorpe@theboltonnews.co.uk