Amanda Pritchard has set out how the health service will make ‘every contact count’ by rolling out opportunities for health checks at times when patients already have other appointments.

NHS England’s Chief Operating Officer told the NHS Confederation conference that the NHS will offer a range of targeted tests including blood pressure, heart-rhythm and cholesterol checks when people drop in for top-up covid jabs or flu vaccinations this autumn.

She said: “The NHS is not just a sickness service but a health service which is why we want to make every contact count, using every opportunity to keep people well rather than just seeking to make them better. We want to offer a fully integrated care system, where we can reach out to people in the communities they live in – not just diagnosing and treating conditions, but working in partnership with the public and intervening before advanced disease occurs, keeping people healthy and well.

“The hugely successful NHS vaccine programme has given us the opportunity to make every contact count by going out into peoples’ communities to beat coronavirus while also catching other killer conditions. The checks – like the jabs – will be available in convenient locations in local communities including village halls, churches, mosques and local sports centres and prevent people becoming seriously ill.”