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Background to Keep Well

In October 2005, Ministers announced Delivering for Health. This previous national plan for the NHS in Scotland listed a number of interventions focused specifically at tackling health inequalities. One of the major actions for primary care was the development of an Anticipatory Care Model targeting geographic communities of greatest need. This programme of action was entitled Prevention 2010. In September 2006, the national programme was launched under the new title of Keep Well.

Aim of Keep Well

The Keep Well vision is 'to increase the rate of health improvement in deprived communities by enhancing primary care services to deliver anticipatory care'.

This will be achieved by:

• identifying and targeting those at particular risk of preventable serious ill-health (including those with undetected chronic disease)
• offering appropriate interventions and services to them
• providing monitoring and follow-up.

HEAT Target

The policy intention has been to make inequalities-targeted high risk primary prevention part of the normal offer of the NHS. HEAT targets generate a focus on delivery, and provide one lever for the mainstreaming of anticipatory care. Keep Well contributes towards achieving the national H8 HEAT target ‘To achieve agreed number of inequalities targeted cardiovascular health checks during 2011/12’.

NHS Health Scotland

NHS Health Scotland manages the Keep Well programme and provides national support to local NHS Boards around the themes of:

• evaluation
• communications and marketing
• dissemination
• shared practice and learning
• learning and workforce development

Keep Well checks

Individuals in the target population are invited to attend a Keep Well health check. The health check is essentially a risk assessment carried out by a healthcare practitioner. Further details on the health check are outlined in the Keep Well patient journey poster (poster for health professionals) - PDF.

Keep Well areas

The Keep Well programme currently operates in 10 NHS health board areas throughout Scotland. Keep Well primarily focused on GP practices to carry out the health check. Recently alternative settings have been tested.

Communities were initially selected for Keep Well by using the Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation and focusing on NHS board areas with high concentrations of the 'most deprived 15%'. In addition, some areas have targeted high risk populations irrespective of the location.

For further information on the Keep Well areas download What is Keep Well (leaflet for health professionals) - PDF.

Mainstreaming of Keep Well: From April 2012

In May 2010, the Scottish Government announced its intention to mainstream the Keep Well programme of targeted health checks from April 2012.

The Keep Well Extension Board (KWEB) has been convened to assist with and oversee the planning of the detailed work necessary to develop delivery arrangements from April 2012.

Short life sub-groups of the Keep Well Extension Board were established to develop proposals and recommendations on specific aspects of the future programme. The sub-groups were:

• Information
• Models of Service Delivery
• Population Targeting
• Evaluation and Outcomes
• Post 2012 GP arrangements.

Additional sub-groups may continue to be formed throughout the planning process if required.

The future plans will draw on the valuable experience of delivering Keep Well and Well North to date. This work will also be informed by:

• Learning from local and national evaluations
• Existing evidence
• Analysis of responses to the national Keep Well consultation document.

Reviewed 24 October 2011