Lloydspharmacy’s 1,400 branches across the UK will offer the tests – which normally cost £10 – for free this week only (June 14-20) to mark Diabetes Week, a campaign run by the charity Diabetes UK.

Pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk UK part funded Lloydspharmacy’s initiative, the multiple said in a statement last week (June 11).

10-minute test

Patients can book the 10-minute type 2 diabetes test online or by visiting a Lloydspharmacy branch.

They will be invited to attend an appointment with a pharmacist, who will ask them a series of questions to understand if they are likely to develop type 2 diabetes, before taking their blood pressure and blood glucose levels, Lloydspharmacy explains on its website.

Patients might be invited to a second appointment if needed, “for further testing or offered personalised lifestyle advice to help reduce their risk of developing type 2 diabetes”, according to the multiple.

Demand for service up by 250%

Lloydspharmacy registered a 250% increase in demand for its type 2 diabetes screening service in April and May, compared with the same period last year, it said in last week’s statement.

This suggests that “more people are taking a proactive approach to managing their health post-lockdown”, the multiple said.

Data collected by Lloydspharmacy on its diabetes service between January and April revealed that out of 2,812 people tested, 201 were found to have a high type 2 diabetes risk, a spokesperson told C+D today (June 14).

Anna Ruthven, head of services at McKesson UK – Lloydspharmacy’s parent company – said that it is important that the multiple engages “communities in preventative services that support their health and wellbeing, and our pharmacy teams can help empower people to do this”.

“The timely identification of individuals at risk of developing type 2 diabetes, or in the early stages of the condition, is crucial and interventions like this can really make a difference,” Ms Ruthven added.

Lloydspharmacy has carried out more than 1.5 million type 2 diabetes tests since launching the service in 2003, it said.

In 2019, C+D revealed that Lloydspharmacy would start charging patients for diabetes screening and blood pressure tests but remained committed to offering these services for free for a set time.