NHS Health Check Programme Training

The NHS Long Term Plan identifies cardiovascular disease (CVD) as a clinical priority and the single biggest condition where the NHS can save lives over the next 10 years. Following the disruption caused by COVID-19, we now have much to do to improve the detection and management of atrial fibrillation, blood pressure and cholesterol (ABCs).

NHS Health Checks are a terrific way to help save lives, and training is essential.

Our training offer has evolved; we now provide two types of training, National, where staff can book our regular online live training events for full study days, updates, and the new clinical refreshers or Local, where we work with you to provide a bespoke training programme tailored to your local needs. Local training can be online or in person, and while it includes the same elements as the National training, we also offer lunch and learn sessions, admin-specific, skills, clinical topics etc in addition to the core offering.

National NHS Health Check Training

A competent workforce is essential for the success of the NHS Health Check Programme regardless of who or where the checks are delivered. Anyone delivering NHS Health Checks should have access to a robust and accessible training programme. And technical competence alone is not enough; staff must also be able to communicate appropriately with people, particularly about risk factors and cardiovascular risk.

National online events are available to purchase by individuals and organisations. This training can be used as stand-alone or in combination with local bespoke training.

Online registration
Live, interactive online training via Teams
Training booklet
Course handouts
Certificate of Attendance

Local NHS Health Check Training

Our training offer has evolved to provide a more extensive Local training package, where we work with you to build a bespoke training programme tailored to your local needs.

Local training can be online or in person, and while it includes the same elements as the National training, we also offer lunch and learn sessions, admin-specific, skills, clinical topics etc in addition to the core offering.

Bespoke local training can be combined with training opportunities on the National Programme to meet local needs.

We understand that some areas have in-house administration to support training. Therefore, we have two levels of support to enable you to choose which you require.

Services	Standard Client Services	Enhanced Client Services
Diary Scheduling
Promotional flyer
Online booking facility
A dedicated page on our website, exclusively for your training, only accessible through a link shared with you
Bespoke communication collateral
Use of our Zoom or Teams platform
Regular registration updates
Attendee and DNA report
Comprehensive evaluation
Summary report for evaluations
Training materials provided for you to share with attendees
Training materials made available directly to attendees
Certificates for all attendees who complete the evaluation

The NHS Health Check is a deceptively complicated and challenging programme. However, without ensuring that staff delivering checks are competent and confident, we won’t be able to impact overall CVD outcomes of inequalities.

The pandemic and staff turnover has further hampered, which means that many NHS Health Check Programmes have multiple challenges to overcome to achieve the ambitions of this national programme.

An ideal way to ensure that any training meets the local needs of the staff delivering the service is by gaining insight through a Training Needs Analysis (TNA).

+Read More about TNA

If you would like to know more about Smart Health NHS Health Check training, please complete the enquiry form for commissioners and organisations and we will arrange a call to discuss your training needs, including bespoke offerings.

Make an Enquiry

More about NHS Health Check Training Content

Starting with strengthening their understanding of the need for the programme and health inequalities that exist, this comprehensive session gives attendees the knowledge and understanding to support them in carrying out an NHS Health Check, including the significance of their results and CVD risk, acting on the filters and providing brief advice.

State why NHS Health Checks are important

Identify non-modifiable risk factors for cardiovascular disease

Identify modifiable risk factors for cardiovascular disease

Know the NHS Health Check filters

State how an NHS Health Check should be conducted

Identify how an NHS Health Check can assess and interpret the risk of cardiovascular disease

State how the risk of cardiovascular disease and opportunities for reducing this risk may best be communicated

Appreciate the different risk communication strategies

Appreciate the complexity of GPPAQ and Audit C

Know what is needed for dementia prevention and awareness

Understand clinical and lifestyle referral pathways

Appreciate behaviour change techniques

This course is a follow-up to the Understanding NHS Health Checks full study day, a reminder of the NHS Health Check Competency Framework and then focuses on CVD Risk, GPPAQ, Audit C, and Dementia prevention and awareness.

State why NHS Health Checks are important.

Identify non-modifiable risk factors for cardiovascular disease.

Identify modifiable risk factors for cardiovascular disease.

Know the NHS Health Check filters

State how an NHS Health Check should be conducted.

Identify how an NHS Health Check can assess and interpret the risk of cardiovascular disease.

State how the risk of cardiovascular disease and opportunities for reducing this risk may best be communicated.

Appreciate the different risk communication strategies

Appreciate the complexity of GPPAQ and Audit C

Know what is needed for dementia prevention and awareness

Understand clinical and lifestyle referral pathways

Appreciate behaviour change techniques

The NHS Health Check will help identify individuals who require additional clinical assessment and follow-up. This course focuses on guidance on best practice clinical follow up and further assessment that may be triggered by the NHS Health Check risk assessment .

The so what next bit, includes AF, blood pressure, cholesterol, CKD and familial hypercholesterolemia.

Choose your top three topics on the day, each session will be tailored to the group’s learning needs.

State why NHS Health Checks are important
Know the NHS Health Check filters
State how an NHS Health Check should be conducted
For the top three topics, choose from: AF, BP, Chol, CKD, and FH
- Know who is most at risk
- Know the signs & symptoms
- Describe the pathophysiology, detection and diagnosis
- Understand Initial management

A 30-minute video introduction to NHS Health Check training by Michaela.

Available to watch on-demand at a time that suits you. Certificates for CPD available after viewing.

Click to watch

What attendees say

Rate knowledge before training

3.4

Rate likelihood of using what has been learnt

4.7

Rate knowledge after training

4.5

Rate trainers’ delivery

4.8

GPN

The trainer was very passionate about the subject and wanting us to deliver the best care we can to our patients, making sure we fully understood the CVD risk so we can explain to our pts confidently what this means, getting to grips with the BMI and GPPAQ too. Since the training I am now seeing and hoping to revise how I go about these checks with my patients in order to give them the best care so thank you for that.

HCA

The trainer and training was great, well presented, with lots of information, Looking forward to the slides being sent to help refresh my memory and reflect on the information and to complete the NHS Health checks fully and correctly.

Care Co-ordinator

Michaela is a great instructor I have had her before on a few different courses and always easy to understand and very interesting

Clinical IT Administrator

Michaela is a very good teacher. I feel I have learned so much today about NHS Health Checks and how they are not just an exercise in box-ticking. I look forward to enrolling in some bite-sized training.

HCA

Very informative training because contain so many important information. This is very helpful on relation how to deal with patient and also to develope your own knowledge.

Practice Nurse

The presentation is clear, easy to understand, the course is intensive. I have very little knowledge of heart disease and none on Dementia and has learn more today I enjoy this presentation. Thank you

HCA

Michaela was very engaging, informative and from the opening section I thoroughly enjoyed this, the confidence given to my was very good, even explaining the zoom how to…. Very well done. Would not hesitate to recommend and will definitely use suggested sites. Thank you

HCA

Encourage everyone in the training session to speak freely and candidly, because learning occurs most readily when feelings are involved. Build self-esteem.

Practice Manager

I am a PM and attended this training more to obtain resources and also to ensure I know how to support the nurse and HCA team in case they have any questions. Also to know what work goes into a check so if a patient was to ask why we do offer these, I can answer the benefits. So it was very useful for me.

View the NHS Health Check Training National Events Calendar

Meet the trainers

Michaela Nuttall RGN MSc

Director

NHS Health Check Training Lead

Michaela is a Cardiovascular Nurse Specialist, Director at Smart Health Solutions and founder of Learn With Nurses. She is the former Head of CVD Prevention for Public Health England and Clinical Advisor at OHID. She is the Chair of the Heart UK Health Care Committee and a member of the Nurses and AHP & The Guidelines and Information Working Party of the British and Irish Hypertension Society.

Una O'Connor RGN MSc FHEA

Independent Nurse Consultant

Una is an Independent Nurse Consultant. Education is a priority for her, having achieved PGCE, PG Dip and Master of Science Degree in Medical and Healthcare Education and she is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy. Her passion for promotion and delivery of teaching led to the role of Communications and Engagement Lead for Learn With Nurses and Una is currently the Operations Manager for both Smart Health Solutions and Learn With Nurses. During the pandemic Una returned to a clinical role to support the COVID-19 vaccines delivery plan. She also joined Smart Health Solutions at this time, initially as a Covid-19 Support Nurse and then as the Support Lead during the height of the pandemic and beyond, in addition to assisting in the delivery of the Health Protection and Care Champions Network.

We are a registered Centre for the Royal Society of Public Health (RSPH), and HEART UK supports our cardiovascular training. The NHS Health Check Competency Framework underpins our training.

We are proud of our strong heritage in supporting the NHS Health Check Programme, especially for training we have been providing since 2008.