The NHS is expanding blood pressure checks available in local communities including barbershops, mosques and at a dominoes club, as part of a major drive to prevent strokes and heart attacks.
Thanks to the learning from the NHS covid vaccination programme, local teams are reaching out into their neighbourhoods to find potential health problems before they become more serious for patients at locations that are most convenient.
The lifesaving action by NHS staff comes alongside new figures showing that high street pharmacies delivered a total of 149,865 blood pressure checks to the over 40s in May 2023 – more than double the amount delivered the year before (58,345 in May 2022).
More than 1,300 heart attacks and strokes could be prevented this year thanks to the high street checks.
New funding as part of the primary care access recovery plan will see a further 2.5 million blood pressure checks in community pharmacies, estimated to prevent more than 1,350 cardiovascular events each year – 113 heart attacks and strokes every month.
The total number of blood pressure checks delivered by pharmacy teams in the year to March was more than 1 million (1,053,278).
David Webb, Chief Pharmaceutical Officer for England, said: “The enormous expansion in the number of blood pressure checks delivered over the last year is thanks to the hard work of community pharmacies which have more than doubled the number of blood pressure checks delivered, and the innovation of local teams, going into the heart of communities with mobile sites that can visit places like barber shops and dominoes clubs.
“With the number of people living with major illnesses including heart disease and other cardiovascular conditions set to grow substantially over the coming years, it has never been more important to put in place preventative measures like easy to access blood pressure checks that can pick up the early signs and risks, with figures showing teams are on track to prevent more than 1,300 heart attacks and strokes this year alone”.
The Health Foundation estimates that 9.1 million people will be living with a major illness by 2040, 2.5 million more than in 2019, which is why prevention and early intervention tools such as community blood pressure checks are key priorities for the NHS.
The creation of integrated care systems has ensured health and care professionals across the NHS, councils and voluntary sector can easily work together to boost prevention and tackle health inequalities, bringing together all available data and resources to find those at highest risk and link them up with appropriate local services.
Professor Bola Owolabi, NHS Director of Healthcare Inequalities, said: “These latest figures demonstrate the exceptional work being done by high street pharmacies to tackle health inequalities, more than doubling the number of blood pressure checks in just a year which will undoubtedly have a significant effect on reducing the risk of heart attack and stroke for so many people. This is particularly important for those living in the most deprived areas and from ethnic minority backgrounds who we know are most at risk.
“This is also why it is so vital that we continue to strengthen the exceptional work being done by local NHS prevention and health inequalities teams who are constantly thinking of new, innovative ways to get right into the heart of our communities – whether it is the local church, mosque, community centre or a dominoes club – delivering blood pressure checks in the most convenient places to make it as easy as possible for people to check their risk”.
John Maingay, Director of Policy and Influencing at the British Heart Foundation, said: “Having high blood pressure can significantly increase your risk of having a heart attack and stroke, but it can be difficult to know you have it unless you check because it doesn’t usually have any obvious symptoms.
“At a time when the NHS is busier than ever, making more of these free checks available in local communities has the potential to help millions more people improve their heart health, and prevent more heart attacks and strokes.
“We urge everyone to take up a free blood pressure check in your neighbourhood – it’s quick, easy, and could help save your life”.
