We’re bringing NHS health checks into the community
Annie Diamond, Advanced Public Health Practitioner, Derbyshire County Council and Angela Odell, Public Health Manager, Derby City Council.
The NHS Health Check is a free check-up of overall health.
It’s designed to tell you whether you are at higher risk of getting health problems such heart disease, stroke, diabetes, and vascular dementia.
The check is for everyone aged 40-74 who doesn’t aleady have a diagnosis of certain health conditions.
They are available every five years to assess risk factors and receive support to manage or reduce these risks.
Local public health teams are responsible for ensuring checks are available.
They are usually carried out in GP practices but 50% of people who are invited for NHS Health Checks don’t attend.
To help change this, Derby City’s Livewell and Derbyshire County’s Live Life Better Derbyshire and Healthy Workplaces teams are taking checks out to communities and workplaces supporting the work carried out in GP practices.
Derby City Livewell team have provided community based NHS health checks since 2015, currently offering them at The Council House, Florence Nightingale Community Hospital, and in workplaces like Alstom, Derby Homes, Perth House, University of Derby, and Rolls-Royce.
Flexible appointments are available to suit shift workers, like 6am checks in Derby city care homes.
The team also provides checks on behalf of four GP practices who don’t offer them directly.
If warning signs are detected, clients are referred to their GP, and a personalised health plan is discussed, which may include joining Livewell’s healthy lifestyle services for weight loss or stop smoking support.
Future projects include working with the Roma community in Derby, and supporting DWP’s mid life MOT for jobseekers aged 50+.
Live Life Better Derbyshire delivered NHS health checks on behalf of 10 GP practices to help increase their availability following Covid-19. This was successful and an evaluation will be published soon.
Healthy Workplaces Derbyshire is now targeting men aged between 40 and 65 working in routine and manual occupations, offering checks in their workplaces. Recently, the team completed 13 checks over two days in Frank Roberts Bakery.
Seven employees received immediate support to stop smoking, and four signed up to Live Life Better Derbyshire lifestyle services. An interim evaluation of this service concluded that NHS Health Checks can be successfully delivered in workplaces, and this project has been extended for another two years, to make it easier for people of working age to access these checks.
Live Life Better Derbyshire offers ongoing support to increase physical activity, lose weight and stop smoking, and offer help and advice on alcohol awareness, falls prevention, and employment and finance.
The team also links with partners and organisations such as job centres, food banks, libraries and community groups to offer checks to as many people as possible in the heart of the community.
NHS health checks really make a difference, and because risk factors like high cholesterol, blood sugar or blood pressure are hidden, or ‘silent’ it’s a great opportunity to get everything checked in one go!
The NHS Health Check has transformed our lives
TV personality Umar Siddiqui encourages Derby residents, especially Asian men, to book their NHS Health Check. The 46-year-old who has a healthcare science background, recently had his check with Livewell, and highlighted the 50% increased risk of heart disease in South Asian men, and urged males of Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi, and Sri Lankan origins to book their appointment.
Read Umar’s story on the Livewell Derby website.
After her NHS Health Check in 2024, Sally (46) from Sinfin in Derby made lifestyle changes supported by Livewell’s weight management programme. During her check, Sally discovered she was borderline diabetic, but by starting a low-carb diet and increasing her physical activity, she has now lost four stone, has reversed her diabetes and improved her overall health.
Read Sally’s story on the Livewell Derby website.
Live Life Better Derbyshire [LLBD], the lifestyle support service available to Derbyshire residents living outside Derby City is also there to help.
Marc Fox from Darley Dale [56] with a serious lung condition, stopped smoking after 45 years with LLBD stop smoking team. With their help he also stopped drinking, became more active, and feels a lot happier.
He said “I would absolutely recommend the service. I needed that help, the push to do it and the service worked.”
Read Marc’s story on the Live Life Better Derbyshire website.
Jan Warsop from Calow also benefited from LLBD’s weight management programme, losing over 4 stone! She is keen that others grab the opportunity to get healthier. With serious knee problems, she felt she had been ‘” written off”, but is now doing a sponsored challenge for charity, and walking 15,000 steps a day!
Read Jan’s story on the Live Life Better Derbyshire website.
For more information, help or support from LLBD, access their website www.livelifebetterderbyshire.org.uk , call 0800 085 2299 or 10629 538 200, or e-mail asch.llbd.info@derbyshire.gov.uk
For more information about Livewell their website is www.livewellderby.co.uk, where Health Check appointments can be booked, call their customer contact team on 01332 641254 or email livewell@derby.gov.uk.
For more information about NHSHC, access this website www.healthcheck.nhs.uk
For free to access eLearning for healthcare via www.e-lfh.org.uk/programmes/nhs-health-check/ or for people delivering NHS Health Checks, speak to your contract lead for more training information.