Integrated Care Board issues new multi-year funding to expand PocDoc’s Healthy Heart Check programme in the North East and North Cumbria

Cambridge, UK, 16 December: PocDoc, the UK’s leading digital health diagnostics company today announces that its Healthy Heart Check programme - in partnership with Health Innovation Northeast and North Cumbria (HI NENC) - has been expanded with new multi-year funding from North East and North Cumbria Integrated Care Board (ICB).

The funding from the local ICB’s Healthier & Fairer Programme will expand the Healthy Heart Check across multiple years and benefit thousands of at-risk patients.

The work builds on the success of previous Healthy Heart Check programmes run by PocDoc and HI NENC, which identify risk of cardiovascular disease amongst the 40+ population, allowing for earlier intervention and improved outcomes. The initial work identified significant gaps in access to testing for some communities, and as a result, focused on screening patients from historically underserved groups - including people from Black-African, South Asian and other minority ethnic backgrounds in Middlesbrough.

More than 60% of patients tested in the new network of community-led screening locations were found to be at risk of cardiovascular disease and referred for treatment. This high number underscores the importance of improving access to fast, convenient screening for everyone, without which major health risks are identified far too late - or not at all.

PocDoc’s ‘Healthy Heart Check’ offers patients a comprehensive cholesterol profile, body mass index score, NHS heart age, and a ten-year risk assessment for heart attacks or stroke - all via a smartphone, meaning there is no need to visit a GP or hospital for testing.

Test results and overall cardiovascular health risk are instantly available and integrated back into the patient record, dramatically reducing the time it would typically take for an individual to arrange, undertake, and receive results back from a standard blood test.

To date, the Healthy Heart Check service has been used by tens of thousands of patients nationwide in communities, workplaces and homes and patient feedback has been overwhelmingly positive, with 97% saying they would recommend the service to a family member or friend.

The news comes as PocDoc continues to expand across the NHS and Community Pharmacy. The company recently announced a record-breaking pre-A funding round including investment from the only NHS-anchored venture capital fund, which will further deepen PocDoc’s relationships with the NHS, helping bring its revolutionary digital diagnostics to more patients in need across the country.

Steve Roest, CEO at PocDoc, commented: 

“Cardiovascular disease is a major issue in the UK affecting the lives of millions of individuals. But the reality is that we can prevent 80%¹ of CVD cases through early detection and primary preventive care, using technologies like PocDoc which are especially effective at proactively targeting communities that experience health inequalities.

“The key is to increase access to screening tools, such as the Healthy Heart Check, that enable accurate and safe testing outside of a traditional healthcare setting and thereby remove some of the barriers currently limiting some of this country’s most at risk and vulnerable people from accessing diagnosis and testing. We’re delighted to announce this multi-year expansion to enhance access for those who need it the most and enable them to take action that can improve their health and lower their risk of heart related issues.”

Julia Newton, Medical Director at Health Innovation Northeast and North Cumbria, said:

“CVD is a major problem across the UK, but it is especially an issue in various areas in the Northeast and North Cumbria where health inequalities affect many of our population. The best way to tackle this is through early prevention. We must get people screened for their CVD risk so that we’ll be able to guide them on the correct healthcare pathway.

“Tools like PocDoc’s Healthy Heart Check are a great way to reach those who are at risk. It also gives us results quicker than traditional methods, so we’re able to test more people in a short amount of time, detect problems faster and give patients the care they need earlier.”