Champs Collaborative secures second round of funding from British Heart Foundation

Champs Public Health Collaborative has been successful in its latest partnership bid to the British Heart Foundation (BHF). The new programme will enable further at scale detection of high blood pressure by embedding blood pressure checks within wellbeing at work programmes.  All nine Cheshire and Merseyside (C&M) local authorities are taking part in this innovative programme, plus the two fire authorities.
 
If untreated, high blood pressure, known as the "silent killer", can increase the risk of heart attacks, stroke and dementia. It is however largely preventable and easily treated. By focusing on workplaces, staff health and wellbeing will be increased, improving productivity and sickness absence. The programme will detect new high blood pressure cases to ensure they are optimally managed and so contribute towards reducing the demand on health and care systems.

 
Councillor Janet Clowes, Adult Social Care and Integration Portfolio Holder for Cheshire East and Co-Chair of the C&M Blood Pressure Partnership Board said:

"We are delighted to be selected and especially pleased to be the only area to be successful two years running. We are making great progress on our "Saving Lives: Reducing the pressure" 5 year cross sector blood pressure strategy and want everyone in C&M to know their blood pressure numbers like they know their PIN code or weight. Thanks to all the partners who worked on the bid and are helping deliver the strategy."
 
This is the second time the Collaborative has secured funding from the BHF, making a total of £200,000 achieved to accelerate its work on reducing high blood pressure. The first round of funding has seen 3,586 new blood pressure checks so far and 225 people trained to undertake blood pressure checks. Fire and rescue services staff in C&M were trained to take blood pressure measurements as part of their Safe & Well visits. The programme also included funding a state of the art health kiosk and the recently launched 'conversational tool', an online resource to encourage blood pressure checks in pharmacies and at community events.

Read more and view the Saving Lives: Reducing the pressure blood pressure strategy here.