Over 40s in England to be sent home blood test to tackle obesity and heart disease

People over the age of 40 in England will be sent a blood test to carry out at home in a bid to reduce heart disease and obesity.

The move is part of a new digital health checks being rolled out by the NHS in an attempt to ease pressure on GP surgeries.

The scheme, which will launch next spring for people aged 40 to 74, will also include an online questionnaire, with recipients asked to provide details of their height and weight, diet, alcohol intake and exercise levels.

The home blood test will check cholesterol levels with patients asked to take a blood pressure test at a pharmacy, alongside the online assessment. Results will then be made available online and help will be offered to anyone showing early signs of issues such as diabetes or heart disease, as well as referrals to weight-loss clinics or medication.

The online questionnaire will be available via phone, tablet or computer and the government believes each check will save 20 minutes of NHS time. Around 15 million people will be eligible for the scheme and around one million checks are expected to be carried out over the next four years.

Health and Social Care Secretary Steve Barclay said: “Thousands of heart attacks and strokes could be prevented every year through simple health checks, which could save lives and ease pressure on the NHS. This new digital check-up will mean people can do simple tests and get tailored advice from homes while reducing pressure on GP services.”

Cardiovascular disease is the second biggest killer in England, affecting around 6.4 million people. According to the government, the new digital check will help to identify 200,000 people who could benefit from the use of statins, 30,000 cases of hypertension and prevent around 400 heart attacks and strokes over the first four years.

Professor Sir Nilesh Samani, medical director at the British Heart Foundation, said: “This initiative will help to reach more people and encourage them to get their blood pressure and cholesterol levels checked so that, where necessary, healthcare professionals can work with them to manage their condition.

“This could play an important role in helping people live healthier for longer and saving lives in the coming years, while reducing pressure on the NHS.”

The digital scheme will replace existing NHS health checks for people in the same age group  which currently take place face-to-face with a GP, but concerns have been raised that such a move will leave elderly people behind if they struggle with technology.

David Baines, vice chair of the Local Government Association, told The Times: “Making more digital health checks available is a useful tool to detect certain illnesses but it should be treated as an addition to, not a replacement for, a physical health check.”