The NHS Health Check programme aims to help prevent heart disease, stroke, diabetes and kidney disease. Everyone between the ages of 40 and 74, who has not already been diagnosed with one of these conditions, will be invited (once every five years) to have a check to assess their risk of heart disease, stroke, kidney disease and diabetes and will be given support and advice to help them reduce or manage that risk.
The Department of Health and NHS Diabetes and Kidney Care work together to support the NHS in delivering the NHS Health Check programme. NHS Diabetes and Kidney Care took over the support for the programme in April 2010.
Of particular interest are any recent evaluations, case studies or good news stories that have occurred as a result of the NHS Health Check programme in your area. If you have any information that you would be happy for us to share on the NHS Health Check website then please get in touch. We would like to include a section on local experience of moving the programme to local authorities. NHS Diabetes and Kidney Care can provide some support for putting case studies together for the website.
In response to popular demand, we would also like to add a ‘Useful Contacts' section to the website to make it easier for people involved in delivering the programme to get first hand advice from the experts. We are looking to create a list of people with knowledge of specific elements of running the NHS Health Check programme, for example, engaging local GPs, running a community outreach programme, or running the NHS Health Check programme in a community pharmacy.
If you would be happy for your contact details and area of expertise to be added to the website, or have any other material you would like to share, please contact Eleanor Kent-Dyson.
Information leaflet for people invited for a check: Translated and Easy Read versions now available.The Department of Health has worked with key stakeholders to develop and test an information leaflet to be sent out with invitations for an NHS Health Check or with a confirmation of appointment. The NHS Health Check information leaflet is available free of charge to the NHS from the DH publications orderline.Translated versions of the leaflet are now available to download from the DH website at: www.dh.gov.uk/en/Publicationsandstatistics/Publications/DH_097490In addition, free hard copies of a tailored version of the leaflet will be available from the DH orderline in:
These should become available in Braille, large print and audio versions of the leaflet are available upon request.
The NHS Health Check ebulletin View the latest NHS Health Check ebulletin.
Previous editions:
December 2010
To subscribe to the ebulletin please contact Eleanor Kent-Dyson.
What is the NHS Health Check?In January 2008, the Prime Minister announced the Government’s intention to shift the focus of the NHS towards empowering patients and preventing illness. As part of this, he set out his ambitions to dramatically extend the availability of ‘predict and prevent’ checks to give people information about their health, support lifestyle changes and, in some cases, offer earlier interventions.
In April 2008 Alan Johnson, Secretary of State for Health, announced plans for the NHS to introduce a systematic and integrated programme of vascular risk assessment and management. The NHS Health Check programme (formerly known as ‘vascular checks’) is an ambitious initiative which will offer preventative checks to all those aged 40 -74 to assess their risk of vascular disease (heart disease, stroke, diabetes and kidney disease) followed by appropriate management and interventions. The proposals for the programme were set out in ‘Putting Prevention First’, published on 1 April 2008 and aim to ensure greater focus on the prevention of vascular disease and a reduction in health inequalities. Implementation of this programme began in April 2009.
To support the development and implementation of the national programme, NHS Diabetes and Kidney Care works, in conjunction with the Department of Health, to provide a national Learning Network in order to learn from, build upon and share the learning and experience of both existing and emerging vascular risk assessment and management programmes across the country.
This website has been designed to support the national Learning Network and includes details of national workshops as well as key guidance documents and latest news relating to the NHS Health Check programme, a useful links section, a resources library and a small but expanding library of case studies on vascular risk assessment and management programmes.
If you have any comments on the website or ideas on how we can improve it, please email Eleanor Kent-Dyson