The Total Health Check service, currently available in 500 Lloyds' pharmacies, includes blood pressure and body mass index checks, a cholesterol test and type 2 diabetes screening.

The service, which launched earlier this month and is priced at £25, also comprises a lifestyle consultation to establish the patient's diet, assess their relationship with alcohol and find out if they smoke.

Lloydspharmacy said the service has been developed to reduce patients’ “risk of developing certain conditions”.

The aim, the multiple added, is to catch potential health problems at an early stage, preventing “the need for costly future treatments by offering [patients] advice on how they can better manage their health”.

Available to book in-store and online, the service sees a pharmacist discus the patient’s family history with them and carry out a cardiac risk assessment to estimate the likelihood that they will develop heart disease.

Based on this information, the pharmacist then makes any healthier living suggestions considered suitable or, if necessary, suggests a follow-up appointment.

If a patient is deemed to have a higher risk of developing certain conditions, the pharmacist may also refer them to a GP or “another healthcare service”.

Anna Ruthven, head of services at Lloydspharmacy’s parent company McKesson UK, said: “Our pharmacy teams have…already recognised 18 occasions where patients should follow up with their GP.

“Stopping conditions before they have a chance to appear is much less costly for our health service and most importantly, is far more preferential for patients.

“We want the general public to be more health conscious and take control of their wellbeing. For them to be able to do that we need to make access to healthcare as convenient as possible."

Lloydspharmacy said the service, aimed at patients over the age of 18, is “particularly beneficial to anyone needing support on how to quit smoking, maintain their blood sugar levels or eat more healthily”.

Mental health pilot

Lloyds is currently also piloting a service in the Greater Manchester area, which sees pharmacists offer support to patients who have recently started taking medication for anxiety or depression.

Under the new service, Advancing mental health provision in pharmacy, pharmacists discuss the patient’s medication and life goals with them and assess their progress.

The service includes an initial consultation, during which the pharmacist talks to the patient about how to take their medication and outlines any side effects to look out for.

This is followed by another consultation one or two weeks later and further conversations every time the patient collects a prescription for the first three months.

The scheme is currently being piloted in 10 Lloydspharmacy branches across Greater Manchester.