Doctors are told to “make every contact count” to reduce costs of poor lifestyles

Doctors, nurses, and other healthcare professionals in England will be asked to question patients about their lifestyle, including smoking, diet, exercise, and alcohol consumption, at every meeting, under new plans backed by the government.

The proposal is one of a series of recommendations made by the NHS Future Forum, the body appointed to review the government’s plans for the NHS, in its latest reports to the Department of Health.

Surgeons, midwives, and health visitors, as well as GPs and nurses, will be expected to sign up to the “make every contact count” plan in a bid to curb the soaring costs of healthcare and treatment as …