Digital NHS health checks for over-40s get go-ahead

A digital and community-based version of the NHS Health Check mid-life health ‘MOT’ is set to be rolled out across England from next spring, the government has said.

The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) has predicted it will deliver one million additional health checks over four years, alongside the 1.3 million delivered each year through the conventional face-to-face programme, which this will complement rather than replace.

Under the initiative, people aged 40 to 74 will be able to access the digital health check via a mobile phone, tablet or computer.

They will be sent an at-home blood test to check their cholesterol levels and invited to get their blood pressure checked at their local pharmacy.

They will then complete an online questionnaire, enter their height, weight and blood pressure measurements, and the results of the blood test.

Depending on the results, people will then be directed to personalised advice to reduce the risk of a heart attack or stroke, as well as advice to stop smoking and weight management support where appropriate.

Referrals to GPs will be made if further tests and treatment are needed, with the aim to help reduce demand on GP services, the DHSC said.

The government has also argued the new checks could help to identify 200,000 people who could benefit from the use of statins, 30,000 cases of hypertension, and prevent around 400 heart attacks and strokes over the first four years.

Each digital check could save an estimated 20 minutes of NHS time, potentially freeing hundreds of thousands of appointments in primary care, the DHSC has added.

Health and social care secretary Steve Barclay said: “Thousands of heart attacks and strokes could be prevented every year through simple health checks, which would save lives and ease pressure on the NHS.

“This new digital check-up will mean people can do simple tests and get tailored advice from homes while reducing pressure on GP services.”

The move has been welcomed by the British Heart Foundation. whose medical director Professor Sir Nilesh Samani said: “Millions of people in England are living with conditions like high blood pressure and high cholesterol that, if left untreated, significantly increase the risk of a potentially deadly heart attack or stroke.

“This initiative will help to reach more people and encourage them to get their blood pressure and cholesterol levels checked so that, where necessary, healthcare professionals can work with them to manage their condition.”

The need to reduce pressure on GP services has also been highlighted in research by Cigna Healthcare, which has concluded more than three-quarters (77%) of Britons are unhappy with the current healthcare system.

While the government has said it expects all patients requiring a GP appointment to be seen within two weeks, recent NHS figures have revealed that more than five million patients a month are waiting more than a fortnight to be seen by a GP.

The Cigna Healthcare report, Virtual health: The answer to a challenging healthcare landscape, identified access to care as “the most persistent challenge facing health systems globally”, with long waiting times being among the greatest barriers especially for publicly funded systems, such as the NHS.

The global study, which polled 1,000 people in the UK, found that almost half (49%) of those polled had struggled to get an appointment quickly when sick.

A fifth (21%) also felt they did not get a proper diagnosis even when they had an appointment. More than half (56%) had turned to consulting a doctor over the phone or virtually.

One third (33%) had scheduled appointments via email, the internet or an app, and another 19% have accessed medical records via the internet.

However, 61% said they would prefer a physical consultation rather than a virtual one, if given the choice.