Healthy people will soon be able to undergo a full body scan to check for cancer and heart and lung diseases, the Volkskrant reports on Monday.

The Volkskrant says health minister Edith Schippers is considering relaxing the current ban on preventative full-body screening and has asked the national health council for its views.

In particular, the minister wants to know what criteria the scans should meet and what risks people should be protected against.

Waiting lists

The health council will also look at what the likely demand for scans will mean for hospital waiting lists and what the likely impact will be on healthcare services.

The family doctors’ association NHG has already warned that screening will require follow-up meetings and that people may feel they are patients.

‘People who have been identified with slightly raised blood pressure, for example, have a higher absentee rate from work,’ a spokeswoman told the paper.