The NHS Health Checks programme aims to reduce risk of vascular disease, the largest cause of mortality in the UK. Research shows that 90% of patients expect lifestyle and health promotion advice when they visit their GP, and yet 90% of nurses and healthcare practitioners don’t feel confident delivering it.

What we did

Our award-winning employee health and wellness service, SHU Wellness, developed a new training course to increase workforce competencies in GP surgeries across Sheffield. The day-long course equipped nurses and healthcare practitioners with the skills they needed to provide healthy lifestyle management advice.

The results

Commissioned by Sheffield Public Health, the training included advice on topics like weight management and smoking, based on best practice guidelines for NHS health checks. 61 nurses and health care assistants took part in the training from over 30 local GP practices. On average, participants reported their knowledge and confidence increased from 5/10 to 8/10: a welcome outcome, especially given the short duration of the course.

The training has been commissioned again this year.

They say

Informative and interesting… I learned new skills to use with patients.

Well worth attending. A must have for all health care professionals delivering health checks!

Attendees, health check training course