Agenda item

To consider a report by the Director of Public Health.

The Board were provided with an update of the current position and thinking for the NHS Health Checks Programme and a high-level summary of the current position for the NHS Health Check programme.

A series of proposals were being made to achieve what was necessary, these being:-

• Agree for physical, face to face provision of Health Checks in their current form to remain paused until the end of March 2023. This allows sufficient time to carry out the engagement, design and procurement for a new service, in line with national timelines for the prevention service and ICS start-up;

• Agree to support a continued pausing of the programme until March 2023. This will allow sufficient time for the necessary engagement to develop options for alternative delivery models in line with future national expectations.

• Agree to start the development work for a new local digital health check, thinking about how best to incorporate the LiveWell Dorset behaviour change service with any future population-based cardiovascular disease check.

• Ask the Health Inequalities Group and ICS Engagement team to support work to identify local barriers to delivery and take up of the check over the past few years – to inform the future model. The BCP Council Vibrant

Communities Board, Local Healthwatch, and Dorset Council Stronger Neighbourhoods teams should also be consulted as part of this work.

The Board accepted, reluctantly, the case for face to face checks being paused and understood the reasoning why this had to be the case and considered that engagement and accessibility were essential to health checks being successfully deliver and the participation of organisations to deliver this to complement those traditional ones,  i.e. GP’s, Pharmacies, walk in clinics was critical to achieving this. Parish Councils could play some part as could other civic amenities and facilities, including shops that would be more convenient. There was a need for progressive and flexible thinking in how this could be delivered effectively. Engagement through primary care network by invitation and assessment was a means of achieving this.

Members understood the inequalities across Dorset of health checks and what challenges were being faced . They hoped there might be some quick wins to achieve what was able to be and asked for an update on the work programme at their next meeting of what initiatives might be able to be progressed.

The Board was pleased to see what progress – albeit limited - was being made and the continued success being seen with the Services delivered and what health improvements were being made. Members were pleased to see the new initiatives proposed to be implemented and what benefits these could bring. The advent of advancements in the availability of digital services should be used to complement face to face contact, as necessary and where practicable.

Officers affirmed that Public Health Dorset would remain committed to maintaining and developing these improvements going forward.

Resolved

That the following proposals for the NHS Health Check programme be acknowledged and endorsed:

1) Pause face to face provision of Health Checks in their current form until March 2023. This allows sufficient time to carry out the engagement, design and procurement for a new service, in line with national timelines for the new prevention service and ICS start-up;

2) Begin the development work for a new local digital health check, thinking about how best to incorporate the LiveWell Dorset behaviour change service with any future population-based cardiovascular disease check.

3) Ask the Dorset Health Inequalities Group and ICS Engagement team to help identify local barriers to delivery and take up of the check over the past few years – to inform the future model. The BCP Council Vibrant Communities Board, Local Healthwatch, and Dorset Council Stronger Neighbourhoods teams should also be consulted as part of this work.

Reason for Decision

To allow sufficient time for the national programme recommendations to be further developed, the Dorset ICS to launch, and our local work to identify how best to overcome barriers and inequalities to be developed so that the relaunched check is more effective.