Health workers to go door-to-door under new NHS plans to tackle sickness rates across England

Health workers will be sent door-to-door under drastic new NHS plans to tackle sickness rates across England, according to reports.

A community health worker will be allocated 120 homes to visit every month to see if help is needed under plans set to be rolled out in June, The Daily Telegraph reports.

Health secretary Wes Streeting said trials of the scheme showed “encouraging signs” in slashing the number of heavy NHS users which he called “frequent flyers” of A&E departments.

A pilot scheme in Westminster, London, showed a dramatic 10% drop in hospital admissions over a year, The Daily Telegraph reports.

“We’re seeing some really encouraging signs about what can happen if you’ve got the right care in the right place at the right time,” Mr Streeting said.

The scheme, set to be rolled out in 25 parts of England, is part of Mr Streeting’s 10-year plan for the NHS, which could also see younger people directed to pharmacy care using the NHS app, leaving GPs to devote their time to sicker and older patients.

The health secretary said a modernised version of the health service’s phone app could mean the NHS could “do a much better and faster job of making sure patients get the right care at the right time in the right place”.

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Source: The Independent, 7 April 2025