PEOPLE 40 years and older will be getting a letter from the Health Promotion Board suggesting they go for screening at a nearby clinic to check for diabetes, high blood pressure, and cholesterol levels - at a discounted price.

Women will have one additional test - pap smear - to check for cervical cancer.

This is part of the Health Ministry's plans to get more people to know if they have any serious ailments and to include general practitioners (GPs) in more mainstream health services.

GPs will also be able to treat the elderly with chronic ailments - at subsidised rates, with the ministry making up the difference.

This is an extension of the primary care partnership scheme in which 19,000 poor elderly can get treatment for acute problems like fever or flu from GPs. In the scheme, they pay only $4 for consultation and 70 cents for a week's supply of one medicine.