New PICS hypertension service to reduce health inequalities

On 1 April 2023, PICS launched a new service commissioned by Nottinghamshire’s Integrated Care Board, offering blood pressure checks for thousands of local residents in Mid Nottinghamshire. The goal is to find thousands of people living with undiagnosed persistent high blood pressure (hypertension) and help them get the care they need before becoming seriously unwell.

The ICB have estimated that 12,000 people living in Mid Notts may have undiagnosed hypertension and that many live in areas of deprivation. The only way to tell if blood pressure is high is to test it, so this new service provides an important intervention that will empower people to improve their health while preventing strokes, heart conditions, kidney disease and vascular dementia.

The service will be led by a Clinical Pharmacist and enabled by expert PICS administrators, working closely with local general practice surgeries.

Stephen Andersen, PICS Business Development Manager said: “It’s a really exciting model, where residents will be trained and equipped to take regular blood pressure readings in their own homes over an agreed time period. Hypertension is a persistent high blood pressure, so the data captured will be analysed to find anyone who needs more support.”

Find out more about the new service from Stephen Andersen: stephen.andersen@nhs.net.

Pictured is Harvey Sandhu, a member of the PICS Clinical Pharmacist team, talking with a patient during a photo shoot in 2022.