Compared · Bluecrest health screening
If you are over 50 you have probably had the Bluecrest leaflet through the door. The screening is a reasonable idea done in a hotel function room: blood pressure, an ECG, a BMI, a handful of blood markers, and in the pricier packages an ultrasound or two, with a printed report a week or so later. The blood part is the weak link. It measures roughly what an NHS Health Check measures, and the things that actually predict heart disease, diabetes and kidney decline after 50 are not on it. This page sets out what Bluecrest does, what it does not, and how a proper blood panel fits.
Venous draw at 103 UK clinics or at home. Written report within 48 hours of the lab receiving your sample. No GP referral.
Last reviewed 16 September 2026
The short answer
Bluecrest is a physical screening with a small blood panel attached: good for blood pressure, heart rhythm and, in the higher packages, an ultrasound look at arteries or organs. It is not a comprehensive blood test. After 50 the questions that matter most are blood questions: ApoB and Lp(a) for cardiovascular risk, cystatin C for kidney function, a full thyroid panel, PSA with the free ratio, and the iron, B12 and vitamin D that explain most "just getting older" tiredness. None of those is in a Bluecrest package. If you want the ECG and ultrasound, have them; then have the bloods done properly.
Side by side
| What you want to know after 50 | Bluecrest screening | TrueVitals Ultimate | TrueVitals Signature |
|---|---|---|---|
| Blood pressure, ECG, BMI | Yes | No | Blood pressure and physical measurements; no ECG |
| Ultrasound (carotid, abdominal aorta, organs) | In higher packages | No | No |
| Cholesterol, glucose or HbA1c, liver, kidney basics | Yes, a standard set | Yes, full panels | Yes, extended |
| ApoB and Lp(a) | No | Yes | Yes, plus ApoA1 and ratio |
| Cystatin C (accurate kidney reading in older or slimmer people) | No | Yes | Yes |
| Fasting insulin, HOMA-IR | No | Yes | Yes |
| Full thyroid (TSH, free T4, free T3, antibodies) | TSH only in some packages | Yes | Yes |
| PSA with free PSA ratio (men) | Total PSA in some packages | Yes, total, free and ratio | Yes |
| Ferritin, B12, folate, vitamin D | Partial or none | Yes | Yes |
| Hormones (testosterone, oestradiol, cortisol, DHEA-S) | No | Yes | Yes |
| hs-CRP, tumour markers | No | Yes | Yes |
| Results | Printed report by post, about a week; GP letter | Written report within 48 hours of the lab, every marker explained, reviewed by a medical professional | Same, around 12 working days |
| Where | Hotels and community venues on set dates | 103 clinics or at home, this week | Randox clinics |
| Price | Roughly £130 to £400 by package | £349 + £19 clinic or £39 at home | £799 all in |
Bluecrest's packages and prices change; figures are approximate from public listings in 2026 and you should check their site. The TrueVitals columns are from the published panel contents.
Why it matters after 50
1
One in five people with a normal LDL has a high ApoB, and Lp(a) is genetic and invisible on a standard lipid test. A screening can tell you your cholesterol is fine and miss both. ApoB.Lp(a).
2
Creatinine comes from muscle. Lose muscle with age and your creatinine falls, so the standard eGFR reads better than your kidneys really are. Cystatin C does not have that problem. Kidney function.
3
Total PSA rises with age and a benign enlarged prostate. The free-to-total ratio is what separates that from something to investigate, and it is the difference between a worried month and a clear answer. PSA and the free ratio.
4
Low ferritin, B12, vitamin D or a slowing thyroid are behind most of it, all four are treatable, and a screening with a TSH and no free T3 will miss the thyroid half. Thyroid.Blood tests over 60.
And the reverse
An irregular heart rhythm, a raised blood pressure, an aneurysm or carotid narrowing on ultrasound. Those are physical findings and Bluecrest's higher packages look for them. If that is your worry, the screening is worth having.
The combination
A Bluecrest screening for the physical side and a TrueVitals panel for the blood side, then repeat the panel yearly. The blood picture changes; the ECG mostly does not.
Which panel
Advanced
74 biomarkers · £269
Full thyroid with antibodies, ApoB and full lipids, hs-CRP, HbA1c, full iron studies, vitamin D, B12, folate, core hormones, liver, kidney, electrolytes. Already several times the blood coverage of a screening.
View AdvancedRight after 50
Ultimate
114 biomarkers · £349
Adds Lp(a), cystatin C, fasting insulin and HOMA-IR, PSA with the free ratio, complete hormones and tumour markers. The five markers that matter most after 50 and that no screening includes.
View UltimateSignature
230 biomarkers · £799
Processed by Randox and collected at a Randox clinic with blood pressure and physical measurements. Extended cardiovascular, autoimmune, digestive and neurological screening. Draw included.
View SignatureClinic draw £19. At-home £39, which suits anyone who would rather not travel. Fast from 10pm the night before. Pay monthly available.
Honest comparison
The ECG, the blood pressure taken by someone else, and the ultrasound options in the higher tiers. Those are things a blood test cannot do, and for someone with palpitations, a family history of aneurysm or a blood pressure they have never had checked, they are the point. Bluecrest also comes to towns with no private clinic, on a date you can put in the diary, which is convenient. Where it falls short is the blood panel inside it, which is narrow, and the report, which arrives by post a week later and tells you which numbers are outside a range without connecting them. If you have had a Bluecrest screening and been told everything was normal but you still feel tired, or heart disease runs in your family, the blood work is the missing half. Blood tests with a family history of heart disease.
FAQs
For the physical checks, ECG, blood pressure and ultrasound in the higher packages, it can be, particularly if you have never had them. As a blood test it is limited, covering roughly what an NHS Health Check covers and none of the predictive markers that matter after 50.
It varies by package, but typically cholesterol, glucose or HbA1c, liver and kidney basics, and in higher tiers a TSH, total PSA and a few others. It does not include ApoB, Lp(a), cystatin C, fasting insulin, a full thyroid panel, PSA free ratio or hormones.
No. TrueVitals is a blood testing service. Signature includes blood pressure and physical measurements at the Randox clinic, but no ECG or imaging. If those are what you need, have them done and pair them with a proper blood panel.
If you feel well and have no family history, a normal screening is reassuring on the things it measured. It did not measure ApoB, Lp(a), cystatin C, insulin resistance, full thyroid or the nutrient markers, and those are where a fit-looking 55-year-old's risk usually sits. If you are tired, gaining weight, or heart disease or diabetes runs in the family, yes.
Yes. A registered phlebotomist visits your home anywhere in the UK for £39 and takes the same venous sample a clinic would. How at-home testing works.
Advanced and Ultimate reports are delivered within 48 hours of the laboratory receiving your sample. Signature takes around 12 working days.
114 biomarkers including ApoB, Lp(a), cystatin C and PSA with the free ratio, drawn at a clinic or at home, with a written report within 48 hours that explains what they mean together.
Health check at 50 · Over 60 · Heart health · Nuffield compared · Find a clinic
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