NHS app will be used for over-40s health check-ups

MIDDLE-AGED patients will be encouraged to carry out their own DIY health checks on the NHS app rather than see a GP.

Health leaders want over-40s to log on to check their risk of conditions such as heart disease and diabetes. It is part of a push to make the digital tool ‘the front door to the NHS’ for routine care including booking appointments and checking test results.

It’s also hoped the initiative will free up GPs, saving appointments for those most in need. But there are fears it could ‘exclude’ or discourage less tech-savvy patients.

Last night it was reported that people may even soon be able to sign themselves off sick with the help of an NHS algorithm.

The first port of call for the ill will be an online triage system, via an app or website that is due to be trialled, The Times reported.

It would send people with complex illness to a doctor but others could be signed off for a few days by self- reporting symptoms for the likes of the flu.

It is understood to be one of a number of options the government is looking at. The digital assessments are expected to come in later this year and would replace the standard invitation to see a GP, currently sent every five years to people aged 40 to 74.

Alongside lifestyle questions patients will be asked for height, weight, blood pressure and cholesterol readings. Results of their risk scores for illnesses such as kidney disease and stroke, will then be delivered via the app. NHS app user numbers have more than doubled in the past 12 months to more than 34 million, with over65s the biggest user group. Some 85 per cent of GP practices are connected to the app, and 116 out of 125 acute hospital trusts.

Joe Harrison, national director for the app at NHS England, said: ‘There’s genuine interest from the population in their medical records, in test results and how they manage their health.

‘The app will be the front door to the NHS. It is not going to go away, it is only going to grow.’

Dennis Reed, director of campaign group Silver Voices, said it must not be at the expense of older patients: ‘If this is the front door to the NHS, the back door needs to be just as available for those who are not as adept or don’t have smartphones.’

‘Less tech-savvy will be excluded’