Barts Health NHS Trust last week (November 27) announced the launch of a pilot delivering inclisiran injections – a “cholesterol-lowering treatment” – at community pharmacies in east London.
It explained that the injection is “traditionally administered in hospital settings” twice a year to lower cholesterol and “reduce the risk of heart attacks and strokes”.
But the new pilot aims to make the treatment “more accessible” as well as reducing waiting times and addressing “health inequalities in cardiovascular care”.
Read more: P2U sends 10,000 free heart health testing kits to patients
Barts Health is running the pilot “across selected pharmacies” in collaboration with UCLPartners, it said, adding that it is being funded by “a £198,000 British Heart Foundation (BHF) grant”.
The pilot is being led by Barts Heart Centre consultant cardiologist Professor Riyaz Patel and will treat those who are “awaiting hospital appointments” as well as those “currently attending hospitals”, the trust said.
It will also identify “new at-risk patients via pharmacy-based cholesterol testing”, with Barts Health and UCLPartners recently leading an initiative to deliver “seven-minute lipid tests” in community pharmacies, it added.
“More convenient”
The trust stressed that community pharmacies “offer a convenient setting for preventative heart care”, noting that the pilot supports the NHS 10-year plan’s ambition to “deliver care closer to home”.
Professor Patel said that by partnering with “highly experienced community pharmacists”, the trust can “reach patients faster, reduce waiting times and address inequalities in access to cardiovascular care.”
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And Barts Health NHS Trust director of clinical services Dr Sotiris Antoniou highlighted that “community pharmacies are one of the most accessible parts of the NHS”.
“Integrating inclisiran into pharmacy services unlocks a more convenient and equitable way to deliver preventive heart care,” he said.
Read more: Superdrug rolls out at-home cardiovascular disease test
It comes after Pharmacy2U announced in September that it would send out 10,000 “free cholesterol testing kits” to customers aged 40 and over with an aim to “increase access” to preventative care.
And digital health diagnostic company PocDoc announced in April that it had partnered with Superdrug to offer at-home cardiovascular disease (CVD) tests in more than 180 of its pharmacies.
