Services Database NHS Health Checks

The NHS Health Check Service aims to identify an individual’s risk of cardiovascular disease via a thorough clinical/lifestyle assessment, communicate this risk clearly and concisely and facilitate access to primary care, lifestyle services and/or wellbeing services with regards to follow-up, treatment and management.

The basic components of the health check includes the following information and measurements to be taken from every patient:

• smoking status;
• family history of CVD;
• level of physical activity using the General Practice Physical Activity Questionnaire;
• body Mass Index;
• random cholesterol test-total and HDL;
• blood pressure measurement;
• initial alcohol screening test (AUDIT-C or FAST may be used as the initial screening tool); and
• pulse check to detect atrial fibrillation.

Additional assessments of the health check:

• hypertension risk;
• diabetes risk;
• chronic kidney disease risk;
• full alcohol risk;
• familial hypercholesterolemia;
• CVD risk calculation; and
• dementia awareness (for people aged 65 - 74 years only).

Each participating pharmacy must have a named community pharmacist who will be the clinical lead for the provision of NHS Health Checks within the pharmacy. This lead will take responsibility for the oversight of delivery within their pharmacy,

Online training in the delivery of NHS Health Checks is available free for contracted pharmacies via OnClick, and via the NHS Health Checks website

Suffolk County Council is also offering each commissioned pharmacy a 2-3 hour training session. To ensure all pharmacies are trained in all aspects of the health check from delivery to data transfer via PharmOutcomes

Guidance on the required competencies is openly available on the NHS Health Checks website.