RUGBY star Gavin Henson could be a role model to Welsh men who need to improve their health, said an Assembly Government minister yesterday. Deputy health minister John Griffiths told AMs too many men did not look after themselves and were reluctant to see a doctor. He said women "had a relationship" with their GPs because they were in charge of their families' health.. But "younger men are perhaps a little bit more in touch with their feminine side, shall we say," said Mr Griffiths. "They are more concerned with their bodies and their appearance than older generations. And if you look at somebody like Gavin Henson and you think he shaves his legs, he applies fake tan, he gels his hair, he's proud of his six-pack - he may have had some problems on the field recently - but in many ways he could be an important role model for younger men." Outside centre Henson, on the bench for this weekend's clash with Italy, is dating Voice of An Angel singer Charlotte Church. Yesterday the star revealed she had quit smoking, after embracing Henson's healthy lifestyle. The Assembly's cross-party health committee was discussing ways to encourage men to see a doctor, particularly if they were embarrassed about conditions such as testicular cancer. Men-only walk-in centres were set up in Cardiff and Newport for men who felt uncomfortable in surgery waiting rooms full of women. Health checks were also offered in mosques, Mr Griffiths said. Plaid Cymru health spokeswoman Helen Mary Jones said: "You're now getting a situation where an awful lot of surgeries are almost entirely feminised." Although it was good women were getting better jobs in medicine, she added: "It also means that particularly around some areas like mental health and sexual health men may want to and particularly young men may want to - have services run by people of their own gender." Assembly Government health chief Ann Lloyd said the NHS was encouraged to provide people with a choice in primary care. "We do have to be mindful of religious restrictions as well," she said.. Charlotte recently moved into a £500,000 home in Llandaff which she shares with Henson. | 
