Quality improvement
National Guidance
The StARS framework draws on advice and standards from existing national guidance, bringing together criteria into ten themes from leadership and planning to commissioning and the delivery of the risk assessment and management. It also adopts a systems approach with the involvement of key internal and external partners at the heart of the process.
- NHS Health Check StARS framework: A systematic approach to raising standards - 2015
- NHS Health Check StARS framework: What constitutes evidence
The NHS Health Check programme standards were introduced in 2014 and reviewed in 2020. They set out minimum programme standards, for commissioners and providers, necessary to deliver a safe and effective check. They are not mandatory and do not introduce new targets.
The NHS Health Check Competency Framework sets out the core, clinical skills and programme competencies required to carry out a NHS Health Check.
- NHS Health Check competency framework - July 2020
Local Examples
In 2014, Oxfordshire County Council developed and implemented a Quality Assurance Audit Tool* and audit process to assess the quality of local NHS Health Check delivery against the PHE NHS Health Check Programme Standards 2014/15.
The Oxfordshire QA Tool was used during visits to participating GP providers of the NHS Health Check programme between October 2014 and March 2015. Concurrently, the council performed a Read Code data extraction from providers to assess the quality of data recording against the programme standards. Results were compiled in a dashboard and used to inform feedback.
The council concluded the process was acceptable to providers, was effective in identifying strengths and weaknesses in local delivery, and was used to inform next steps. The process, tools and results were shared for local authorities to use as a reference point and example of local good practice.
A new NHS Health Check Quality Assurance Outcomes Dashboard (2022/23) updated by Oxfordshire County Council is now available.
If you have any local examples you would like to add to this page, please contact the NHS Health Check team.
Page reviewed: 15/12/2022