The Department of Health and Social Care (DH) is launching a new campaign from today (March 11) to encourage patients aged 40 years and over to receive a free blood pressure check at their nearest participating pharmacy, according to the pharmacy negotiator.

The campaign is being held across TV, social media, public relations and billboards, and patients can check for participating pharmacies via the NHS check your blood pressure tool, Community Pharmacy England (CPE) said.  

Read more: Pharmacist swaps store sign to promote Pharmacy First

It aims to encourage the estimated 4.2 million people in England with undiagnosed high blood pressure to engage with the service, the negotiator added.

Pharmacies can also order a free pharmacy campaign pack subject to stock availability from the DH’s campaign resource centre, which includes a counter display unit, posters, consultation cards, pharmacy bag inserts and a briefing document, CPE said.

Read more: Sector calls for ‘clearer Pharmacy First messaging’ amid patient aggression

Additional digital materials, including digital screens, social media assets and a communications toolkit, have also been available since last week, it added.

CPE encouraged pharmacies providing the hypertension case-finding service to ensure their profile in the NHS Profile Manager is up to date so that patients are signposted to them off the back of the campaign. 

Pharmacy First campaign

Last month, NHS England (NHSE) launched its “Help Us, Help You” campaign across on demand TV services, radio, bus stops, billboards and social media to raise public awareness around the Pharmacy First service.

One pharmacy swapped its external sign to promote the new service as part of the campaign – reading “This earache is getting worse” instead of the pharmacy name for 24 hours.

Read more: Pharmacy First, contraception and BP check services ‘bundled’ from 2025

But CPE last week highlighted the need for clearer messaging over what is and isn’t covered by the new common conditions service following reports of abuse and aggression, with patients “yelling and throwing items” at pharmacists.

Meanwhile, pharmacies have reported experiencing long Pharmacy First consultations, most of which do not reach the gateway criteria for payment, and that the service is “harder to implement” than expected - all amid IT chaos and ongoing delays to promised IT updates.

Contractors were told in November that from March 2025, all pharmacies offering Pharmacy First must also provide the expanded hypertension and contraception services.