College responds to latest NAO report on NHS Health Checks

Professor Kamila Hawthorne, Chair of the Royal College of General Practitioners, responded to the National Audit Office’s latest report and its recommendations to review the provisions of NHS Health Checks for cardiovascular disease. Professor Hawthorne said:

“Cardiovascular disease is a serious health condition that can have a terrible impact on patients' daily lives and, in some cases, their lifespan. It’s something we see daily in general practice, and we support evidence-based initiatives that can help our patients to prevent and manage it.

“However, College members have raised valid concerns around the evidence base for the NHS Health Check programme, as well as around over-diagnosis and staff capacity for carrying out the checks when general practice is already stretched and patients are struggling to get appointments. These concerns need to be taken on board when the programme is evaluated.

“The vast majority of all NHS Health Checks are carried out in general practice - and the National Audit Office is right to point out the additional pressure that delivering these health checks places on practices, especially as funding for general practice has fallen in real terms over the past nine years. At the same time, the volume and complexity of general practice workload has risen dramatically but we have fewer full time equivalent GPs than we did five years ago.

“The College recognises the importance of prevention - this is a clinical priority for us – and GPs want to do the best they can for their patients, including helping them not to get sick in the first place. We are calling on the Government to address decades of under-funding for general practice, including the recruitment and retention of thousands more GPs, so that GPs can give all their patients the care they need and deserve.

“GPs need more time to care – and much more time to use our expertise to prevent illness as well as curing it.”

Further information

RCGP press office: 0203 188 7659
press@rcgp.org.uk

Notes to editors

The Royal College of General Practitioners is a network of more than 54,000 family doctors working to improve care for patients. We work to encourage and maintain the highest standards of general medical practice and act as the voice of GPs on education, training, research and clinical standards.