More than 130,000 people across the country are to be offered NHS health ‘MOTs’ in the workplace from next month, the government has said.
The initiative from the Department of Health and Social Care and NHS England will see the NHS Health Check – currently offered via GP surgeries to over-40s – being rolled out to workplaces across the country for the first time.
Local authorities in Norfolk, Medway and Lambeth have also been selected as pilot sites to trial digital checks at home.
Men in particular are being targeted, amid warnings earlier this week from local councils that the men in England are facing “a silent health crisis”, dying nearly four years earlier than women, while suffering disproportionately higher rates of cancers, heart disease and type 2 diabetes.
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Employers from a range of professions will take part in the programme including those from the building, hospitality and transport sectors and social care, the government has said.
One of those employers piloting the scheme will be Jaguar Land Rover (JLR), which has long been a pioneer of innovative occupational health approaches.
JLR chief medical officer Dr Steve Iley said: “JLR is investing £15m a year in its global health and wellbeing programmes because we know that healthy and happy colleagues help us to deliver high-quality products and ensure a positive future for our business. Health checks are a fundamental part of prevention and therefore feature in many of our programmes.
“Our collaboration with Solihull MBC on the Workplace Cardiovascular Disease Checks Pilot, presents a unique opportunity to work together on providing awareness and signposting for our employees.
“We are excited to provide these vital checks to approximately 4,500 of our Solihull employees before the end of this financial year, thus supporting the great work of our NHS,” he added.
In addition, the government has also announced the development of a new digital version of the NHS Health Check, which will be ready for testing early in 2025.
The service will be available through the NHS App, meaning users can undertake their health check at home and have the results automatically written back into their GP electronic health record, within a few clicks.
Andrew Gwynne, minister for public health and prevention, said: “We know so many deadly diseases can be avoided if we seek help in enough time. That’s why we’re working to improve access to treatment while also taking steps to address the preventable causes of cardiovascular disease.
“This innovative new programme is an important step towards community-focused healthcare and supporting economic and productivity through improving health, shifting the focus from treatment to prevention, easing the strain on the NHS and helping people to live well for longer.
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“Over 16 million people are eligible for an NHS Health Check, but current data shows that only around 40% of those invited went on to complete one. This is especially true for men, who are less likely to get early help but who are more likely to develop cardiovascular disease at an earlier age than women. This new programme aims to reach more people through their place of work and make it more convenient for people to understand and improve their cardiovascular health,” Gwynne added.
