Local authorities should encourage people to attend NHS Health Checks and support them with any lifestyle changes needed, according to a new NICE briefing.
The briefing aims to support local authorities - who now have responsibility for commissioning NHS Health Checks - in getting their local community assessed for health risks. It also sets out steps to help tackle long-term health conditions in their populations and reduce health inequalities.
The NHS Health Check is for people aged 40 - 74 years and assesses a person’s risk of developing diabetes, heart disease, kidney disease and stroke. It then provides support to help prevent the condition and advises on lifestyle changes to reduce their risk.
Professor Mike Kelly, director of the Centre for Public Health at NICE said: ‘A report from Public Health England found that checking blood pressure, cholesterol, weight and lifestyle of people in this age group could identify problems earlier and prevent 650 deaths, 1,600 heart attacks and 4,000 diagnoses of diabetes a year. This briefing can help local authorities to increase the number of local people going along to NHS Health Checks, and help more people avoid these serious conditions.
‘One of the briefing recommendations advises that NHS Health checks can be carried out in a range of settings like pharmacies and community centres so that they are easily accessible to as many people as possible. Following the advice set out in the briefing can help local authorities to tackle health inequalities and make the best and most efficient use of resources to improve the health of people in their area.’
The briefing also suggests ways to help promote the health checks, how to help people reduce behavioural risk factors and how to plan services in a range of settings.
Jamie Waterall, national lead NHS Health Check at Public Health England (PHE), said: ‘PHE welcome the NICE Health Check Briefing that draws together all current guidance from NICE relevant to NHS Health Check. Making guidance accessible in this way, with such clear recommendations, is extremely helpful and is a timely reminder of the range of effective options available to support the reach, uptake and impact of NHS Health Check locally.’
