title: Views of practice managers and general practitioners on implementing NHS Health Checks.
abstract: As part of an evaluation of a contract with general practices to deliver the national NHS Health Checks programme in Sefton, North West England, we surveyed general practitioners (GPs) and practice managers (PMs) in all 55 practices. The contract required practices to identify individuals from their practice registers with potentially high cardiovascular disease risk, and provide annual reviews. Responses were obtained from 43/178 GPs and 40/55 PMs representing 56 and 73% of practices, respectively. There was variation in many aspects of implementation. Time and software were viewed as barriers to implementation, the increased nurse workload impacted on other services and payments were insufficient to cover costs. The main enabler for successful implementation was IT support. Fewer than half the respondents viewed the programme as beneficial to their practice. Findings have been used to address many issues raised. Practices need more support from commissioners to help implement NHS Health Checks.
authors.affiliation: 1Professor of Pharmacy Practice,School of Pharmacy and Biomolecular Sciences,Liverpool John Moores University,Liverpool,UK.
authors.forename: Janet
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Krska
authors.affiliation: 2Public Health Development Manager,Sefton Council Public Health Department,Bootle,UK.
authors.forename: Ruth
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: du Plessis
authors.affiliation: 3Deputy Director of Public Health,Sefton Council Public Health Department,Bootle,UK.
authors.forename: Hannah
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Chellaswamy
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases; D004059:Diffusion of Innovation; D004739:England; D005260:Female; D058006:General Practice; D058005:General Practitioners / Q000523:psychology*; D018166:Health Care Reform; D006270:Health Facility Administrators / Q000523:psychology*; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009819:Office Visits; D013222:State Medicine; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
keywords: Health Checks; general practice; implementation