Our Community Outreach Vaccination and Health team, together our One Gloucestershire health and care partners, are supporting the Blood Pressure UK campaign, know your numbers, all year round, in a bid to reduce heart attacks and stroke.
They are visiting various locations across Gloucestershire, offering people simple health checks, including blood pressure, and chatting to them about simple changes they can make to their lifestyle, such as stopping smoking, improving their diet or increasing exercise.
High blood pressure is a major cause of heart attacks and stroke. Around one in three adults have high blood pressure, but many don’t realise it because it often doesn’t have any symptoms until it’s too late.
The Know your Numbers campaign urges everyone, particularly those aged 40 and over, to get a blood pressure (BP) check to find out their numbers and start making healthy lifestyle changes or taking medicines if needed to help bring their blood pressure down.
There are several ways for people to access a BP check, including at a local pharmacy, at a community drop-in event, or at their GP surgery. Some people may also wish to check their BP at home with a home blood pressure monitor.
The Outreach Vaccination and Health team have delivered more than 1,250 BP checks at community drop-in events over the last 10 months, with almost 150 of those people referred to their GP practice, either due to their blood pressure results or other reasons which came up during health checks.
The team also chat to people about simple changes they can make to their lifestyle, such as stopping smoking, improving their diet or increasing exercise and signposting to further support if needed.
Find out more about the Know Your Numbers campaign in Gloucestershire and how to access a BP check.
In Gloucestershire, prevention and increasing the early identification of high blood pressure and supporting those with a diagnosis to manage their condition are important priorities. That’s why we’re supporting the Know Your Numbers campaign all year round.
Oonagh Wilson, Clinical Lead, Community Outreach Vaccination and Health team, said: “The only way to find out if your blood pressure is high is to have your blood pressure checked. All adults over 40 years old are advised to have their blood pressure checked at least every five years. Getting this done is easy and could save your life.”
How to access a blood pressure check:
- At a community health outreach team event – see dates and locations below
- At a pharmacy – use the NHS website to find a pharmacy close to you
- At your local GP surgery – some GP surgeries have a blood pressure machine in their waiting room, or you may be able to book a check with a member of the surgery team
- You can also check your blood pressure yourself with a home blood pressure monitor – see below.
Dates and locations
Our Community Outreach Vaccination and Health team will be offering health checks at the following locations over the next couple of weeks:
Wednesday 3 April - Gloucester
Time: 9am-12pm
Location: St Catharine’s Church
Address: London Road, Gloucester GL2 0RR
Wednesday 3 April - Coleford
Time: 10am-3pm
Location: Information Bus
Address: Coleford Clock Tower
Thursday 4 April - Cirencester
Time: 10am-3pm
Location: Information Bus with Active Cotswold
Address: Cirencester Market Place
Friday 5 April - Kingswood
Time: 10am-1pm
Location: The Keepers Kingswood Community Hub
Address: The Lower Schoolroom, 1 The Walk, Kingswood GL12 8RP
Wednesday 10 April - Frampton on Severn
Time: 10am-2pm
Location: Cadbury Hall Community Centre
Address: Lake Lane, Frampton on Severn GL2 7HG
Check your blood pressure yourself
Home monitoring can be a really useful way of keeping track of your blood pressure. To make sure you get reliable readings, it’s important to use a monitor that’s suitable for you and that you know how to use it.
Find out more about home blood pressure monitoring on the Blood Pressure UK website, or speak to a pharmacist about what type of monitor may best suit your needs.
