MPs call for review of NHS health checks

MPs have called for a full review of the NHS Health Check programme after concerns were raised over its effectiveness and whether it was a poor use of resources. Standardised rules should also be introduced over how screening information is produced to allow for a much fairer presentation of the pros and cons of screening, they said.

MPs on the House of Commons Science and Technology Committee have raised various questions in a new report on screening in general in the United Kingdom, such as the value of England’s NHS Health Check programme.1

Under the programme, designed to help prevent heart disease, stroke, diabetes, kidney disease, and certain types of dementia, everyone in England between the ages of 40 and 74 who has not already had one of those conditions diagnosed is invited to have a health check every five years to assess their risk. Every local authority is mandated by law to provide …