HECK! Food has completed its second annual Men’s and Women’s Health Screening Programme, after doubling the number of days of workplace testing carried out throughout November and December. The initiative formed a central part of the company’s wider CHECK! Campaign, which continues to grow in impact each year. The company changes the name of its popular Chicken sausages from HECK! to CHECK! to raise awareness of the importance of self-checking for testicular cancer.
The onsite health testing broadens the campaign to test for wider preventable diseases and health issues, including Prostate Cancer. HECK!’s 2025 CHECK! Campaign has raised £20,000 for Cahonas, the leading testicular cancer education and awareness charity. The funds will help the charity continue its mission of promoting early detection and life-saving self-checks. The HECK! Food team toured the length and breadth of the country with the eye-catching “Ball Buster” bus, spreading awareness of the importance of checking for testicular cancer.
During screening days, HECK! delivered four full days of men’s and women’s testing, providing comprehensive health checks to over 130 employees. The screenings included heart health assessments, blood sugar testing, blood pressure checks, and health evaluations, resulting in several employees being referred for early follow-up and preventative care.
To help raise further awareness and encourage participation, Yorkshire Vet star Peter Wright attended one of the screening days, meeting co-founder Jamie Keeble and showing his support for proactive health management in the workplace.
“HECK!’s commitment to its workforce is truly inspiring,” said Peter. “By giving people the chance to get checked in a safe and supportive setting, they are helping catch issues early and change lives. More businesses should be doing this.”
Last year’s screening programme once again demonstrated the power of early detection. One of the employees referred after screening, Robert Rough, discovered he had diabetes—a diagnosis he would not otherwise have known about.
“I had no idea anything was wrong,” said Robert. “Thanks to the screening, I’ve changed my lifestyle and feel better than I have in years. It genuinely changed my life.”
HECK! Co-Founder Andrew Keeble is also urging national action following disappointing recent updates from the NHS on prostate cancer screening.
“Men’s health screening, especially for prostate cancer, in the UK is still far too limited. The latest NHS position is a setback, and we need broader, more accessible screening options. What we’ve seen at HECK! shows how beneficial workplace testing can be. If every business offered basic checks, we would catch thousands of issues earlier and save countless lives.”
Co-Founder Jamie Keeble echoed the importance of preventative care. “Early testing saves lives, plain and simple. Our team trusts us to look after them, and the CHECK! Campaign is our way of doing that. The results speak for themselves: early referrals, lifestyle changes, and healthier people. This isn’t just a workplace perk, it’s a responsibility.”
HECK!’s latest programme comes as national sickness rates continue to rise. The CIPD’s 2025 Health and Wellbeing at Work report shows that UK employees now take an average of 9.4 sick days per year – a 62% increase on pre-pandemic levels. Poor employee health is estimated to cost UK businesses over £100 million.
