Hertfordshire Health Matters.

Friday 31 May 2019

Joining forces to save lives with blood pressure tests

 A ground-breaking approach to finding people at risk of serious illness due to undetected high blood pressure has been launched in Stevenage, Waltham Cross, Cheshunt and Broxbourne.

Funded by an £88,000 British Heart Foundation grant, it is hoped that the community blood pressure project will help to test thousands of people who are unlikely to go to their GP surgery for a check-up.

Almost 30% of adults in the UK have high blood pressure, but it is estimated that a further 6.8m people are living with the condition without realising.  

Fire officers librarians, pharmacy staff, council staff and public health workers have been given specialist training and will be taking part in events across the area, offering free checks to everyone who is eligible. Adults who have not had a blood pressure check in the last year and have not previously been diagnosed with high blood pressure will be eligible to count as part of the 5,000 tests that are aimed to be delivered across each year of the two year project.

It is also being made available in Watford and the Three Rivers district council area.

Dr Rachel Joyce, Clinical and Professional Director of Hertfordshire and West Essex STP, said: “People often don’t know they have high blood pressure until it’s too late as there are no symptoms. This project will help us to identify people who are at risk before they suffer from a stroke or heart attack.

“The more that we can do to raise awareness of the risks associated with high blood pressure, the more chance we have of helping people to enjoy a healthier future.”

The project will expand on existing services and is a collaboration between Hertfordshire and Essex Local Pharmaceutical Committees, Healthy Hub Stevenage, Hertfordshire County Council’s Health Improvement Service, Hertfordshire and Essex Fire and Rescue Services. Led by East and North Hertfordshire Clinical Commissioning Group, it is part of a project with Hertfordshire and West Essex Sustainability and Transformation Partnership.  

Everyone who has a free check will be given advice that is relevant to their blood pressure results, including recommended next steps if there is any cause for concern.

You can get your blood pressure checked for free at certain pharmacies, the Healthy Hub in Stevenage and community events across the area.  Find out where at www.healthierfuture.org.uk/bp

 

Celebrating volunteers and recruiting more
for our communities

The commitment and dedication of community-minded people is being recognised during this year’s Volunteers’ Week, which runs from 1-7 June. 

Volunteers help health organisations hear the patient and public voice when decisions need to be made about commissioning.

Whether they focus on improving awareness about all kinds of health matters such as cancer and dementia, dedicate hours to their GP practice through a patient participation group, or work within provider services to help individuals and their families, the impact of their contribution can be measured far and wide.

Follow #VolunteersWeek on social media for inspiration and to share your story, or visit https://volunteersweek.org/ for more information on how to celebrate volunteers in your community.

Have you given your views on proposed move of Moorfields Eye Hospital’s City Road?

Don't forget - the public consultation has started on a proposal to move Moorfields Eye Hospital’s services to a new centre bringing together eye care, research and education in ophthalmology.

The consultation runs between Friday 24 May and Monday 16 September. You can download a full consultation document, the feedback questionnaire, and find other information including many different ways you can participate in the consultation here:  http://oriel-london.org.uk/get-involved/
 
 

What matters to you?

An awareness day on 6 June aims to help support more conversations between people who provide health and social care and the individuals, families and carers who receive that care.       

This is the fourth year of this successful campaign, which began in Scotland and continues to gain momentum.

Look out for events being advertised near you, and if you're on Twitter follow the campaign and join in with the conversation using the hashtag #WMTY2019.
 

LOCAL NEWS week ending 27 May

Several of our area's outlets covered a range of health matters in the past week. Click on the links to take you to their home pages where you can search for health news.

Bishops Stortford Independent

The Comet

Welwyn Hatfield Times