Kent County Council case study

High-level summary

Health Diagnostics have supported Kent County Council’s (KCCs) local NHS Health Check programme since April 2018. The project involves supplying 160 GP practices and 49 branch sites (209 in total), as well as a number of community providers (including community pharmacy and outreach), across 7 CCGs with an end-to-end IT solution for delivering and managing NHS Health Checks.

Health Diagnostics work closely with Kent Community Health NHS Foundation Trust (KCHFT) and KCCs Public Health Team on the project. Over the past 3 years, KCHFT have managed the usage of the IT solution across one of the largest county council areas in England. KCHFT have supported all providers in the delivery of the programme, as well as contributing to the delivery themselves. As of Summer 2021, over 95,000 NHS Health Checks had been completed.

Solution components supplied

  • A Call & Recall module that facilitates the querying of patient databases to identify the eligible cohort
  • Tools to target the identified cohort by running a range of risk stratification algorithms
  • Automated and managed invite processing from an NHS approved mailing house and SMS distributor
  • An interactive tool for patient-focused, personalised and motivational health check delivery
  • Electronic data transfer to patient records
  • Automated e-referrals to lifestyle services
  • Provider invoicing
  • Analytic intelligence on local health trends, programme performance and on-going health outcomes
  • CPD certified ‘train-the-trainer’ training
  • Consultative services and support on all elements of delivery/administration

Local project outcomes

Findings:

Findings from NHS Health Checks completed by GPs and other providers across Kent indicate that:

  • 4.33% of people have been advised to take statins (1 person in every 23 people)
  • 74 CV events will be avoided over 5 years solely on the basis of those that have so far taken up statins
  • 14 otherwise avoidable CV events are likely to occur on the basis of those that have so far declined statins
  • 0.04% have been diagnosed with AF (1 in every 2500)
  • 1.62% have been diagnosed hypertensive (1 in every 62)
  • 0.03% have been diagnosed with FH (1 in every 3333)
  • 0.21% have been diagnosed diabetic (1 in every 476)
  • 0.09% have been diagnosed with CKD (1 in every 1111)

Patient satisfaction levels:

Between the roll-out of Health Diagnostics’ systems/services and Summer 2021:

  • 98% of individuals that have received an NHS Health Check have rated the quality of the service as either ‘excellent’ or ‘very good’
  • 89% of people have stated that they are either ‘confident’ or ‘extremely confident’ about maintaining the lifestyle changes they discussed during their NHS Health Check
  • 98% of people have stated that they are either ‘likely’ or ‘extremely likely’ to recommend the NHS Health Check to family and friends

Year one general practice satisfaction statistics:

Detailed below is a snapshot of outcomes following a satisfaction survey distributed to KCC practices at the end of the first year:

  • 96% described themselves as either ‘satisfied’ or ‘very satisfied with Health Diagnostics’ support services
  • 96% state that Health Diagnostics’ support teams have dealt with their queries either ‘professionally’ or ‘very professionally’
  • 100% state that patients respond either ‘well’ or ‘very well’ to the software
  • 90% state that the software supports the communication of risk either ‘effectively’ or ‘very effectively’
  • 100% state that the software has helped them target their invites either ‘effectively’ or ‘very effectively’
  • 89% state that the solution has been beneficial to supporting them in their role, often in multiple ways

Project management testimonials:

  • According to Vicky Tovey, Public Health Senior Commissioning Manager at Kent County Council:
    • “I would have no hesitation at recommending Health Diagnostics to another organisation. They have been fantastic to work with, professional, hardworking and have a really can-do approach to deliver the project to the needs of Kent. I am confident that the new solution will offer fantastic benefits and financial savings for Kent and have received nothing but positive feedback from key parties involved in the mobilisation which has included GP’s, CCG’s and our community provider. They have ensured the project is delivered on time and I cannot thank the staff enough for this dedication to this project which is of strategic importance to us in Kent. I look forward to working with them over the course of the contract to deliver benefits to local residents and primary care”
  • According to Chloe Nelson, Public Health Commissioner at Kent County Council:
    • “Thank you so much for your proactiveness and efforts in managing the IT roll out, it has been noted and much appreciated here at KCC.”