The Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC) has launched a trial with Cornwall Council of a digitised version of the NHS Health Check.
It involves three GP surgeries and more than 2,000 people across the county with the aim of informing the design and development of a new national NHS Digital Health Check.
The NHS Health Check is designed for people aged 40-74 to spot signs of risk of stroke, kidney disease, heart disease, type 2 diabetes and some types of dementia. They are currently delivered through face-to-face appointments with GPs.
The digital version involves patients completing an online questionnaire, using a kit to take a blood sample at home and completing a blood pressure check at their local pharmacy or in their GP’s waiting room.
DHSC said the trial will include applying some of the lessons learned during the Covid-19 pandemic when people got used to doing tests at home and receiving the results online.
Innovation and understanding
Minister for Public Health Neil O’Brien said: “Innovation is key to a modern, forward looking National Health Service, and this trial will help us understand what a new digital NHS Health Check could look like in the years to come.
“The health check is crucial in preventing and identifying potentially life threatening conditions, and this digital version will do just that while making patients’ lives easier and reducing pressure on frontline services.”
The offer of NHS Health Checks has been historically lower in Cornwall than most local authorities in England. During 2019 to 2020 over 13,400 checks were offered and over 6,900 were completed, but in 2021 to 2022 approximately 4,300 were offered and just over 1,900 were completed.
Dr Andy Sant, managing director of NHS Cornwall’s North and East Integrated Care Area, said: “Much has been achieved in our county around digital inclusion, and the preventative value of health checks is already proven.
“So we are delighted that patients in Cornwall are being given the first opportunity to access a digital version through this innovative trial. Amid such sustained pressure upon general practice, this is a welcome and logical progression.”
Royal College position
The move has been welcomed by the Royal College of General Practitioners, albeit with some caveats.
Its chair, Professor Kamila Hawthorne, said: "Health checks can play an important role in prevention and early diagnosis, but they must be based on evidence that the checks improve health outcomes for our patients. Offering patients the opportunity to carry out health checks, or some aspects of health checks, for themselves at home has merit – some sexual health services already offer users at-home self-testing options, for example, and some patients already have equipment at home such as blood pressure monitors -– so is worth exploring. This initiative has potential to encourage people to take more of an active interest in their own health.
“We expect to see a robust evaluation of this initiative, before further decisions to roll it out more widely are made. Specifically, this needs to look at how digital health checks would link up with GP patient records, and how 'red flag' symptoms or recommendations for lifestyle change picked up by the health checks are managed.
“It also needs to address concerns around the potential for causing unnecessary worry for patients who may not know how to interpret their findings, practice staffing implications regarding the running, interpretation and explanation of tests, and additions to GP workload.
“It will also be vital that patients themselves receive clear instructions as to how to conduct these health checks and are consulted as to the functionality of the service. Any changes to the NHS Health Check programme must be properly communicated both to patients and healthcare professionals."
