22.07.13
Health checks offer ‘life-saving opportunity’ – Hunt
More than 650 lives a year could be saved through the roll-out of NHS Health Checks – simple measures of public health risk for 40-77 year olds.
Health secretary Jeremy Hunt highlighted a Public Health England (PHE) review, which demonstrates the benefits of regular checks of blood pressure, cholesterol, weight and lifestyle.
A 10-point plan has been launched to help councils roll checks out to 20% of the eligible local population each year, with an extra 15 million people to be checked by 2018/19.
Hunt said: “Around 15 million people in England are eligible for a free NHS Health Check that could identify serious conditions early and add years to their life.
“I’d like to see all 40-74 year olds taking up this potentially life-saving opportunity. And I’d like to see the NHS and local authorities encouraging people in their area to get involved. We could save 650 lives a year if there was full take-up. We are an ageing population and thinking about our health early is vital to living a long and prosperous life.”
Director of Health and Wellbeing for Public Health England, Professor Kevin Fenton added: “NHS Health Check programme offers a real opportunity to reduce avoidable deaths and disability, and tackle health inequalities in England.
“We must do more to increase uptake and referral to appropriate risk management services, particularly in those communities at greatest risk, to remove blocks in processes that get in the way and make sure the programme is of consistent high quality across the country.
“We will establish an expert clinical and scientific advisory panel to review and advise on the evidence base and we will work with partners to develop a research and analysis programme to support the delivery and evaluation of the programme at both local and national levels.”
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