Blood pressure checks and beyond: how a community outreach project is helping to save lives

An innovative project has been bringing blood pressure checks to communities across Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin – making these vital checks accessible to people who might otherwise struggle to have them.

The Community Blood Pressure Checks project runs sessions in places like community cafés, libraries and village halls, allowing residents to have their blood pressure checked without having to arrange an appointment.

Now in its third year, the project has reached people across urban and rural areas. Between April 2024 and March 2025, more than 4,000 checks were given, with high blood pressure identified from around 13% of these.

The project’s success is partly thanks to the efforts of more than 180 fully trained volunteers.

“Keeping an eye on your blood pressure can alert you to risks of serious conditions like heart disease and diabetes,” said Johnny, a Telford and Wrekin health champion.

“A small thing like this, that takes a few minutes, can change people’s lives. We’ve seen people who have never had their blood pressure checked, and found out that they have underlying health conditions, which they can go on to get sorted.”

If a check does detect high blood pressure, the resident is offered continued monitoring or is signposted to their GP practice.

Reaching out to the farming community

People in rural areas can face obstacles to accessing healthcare, due to distance from services and transport issues – neighbourhood health aims to overcome these barriers by bringing the right services, resources and support closer to the people who need them.

For farmers, their long working hours can make it difficult to manage appointments. The project has tackled this by bringing blood pressure checks to livestock markets, where farmers can fit a check into their working day.

Hannah Thomas, Community Wellbeing Manager at Shropshire Council, explained that the checks have benefits that go beyond physical health monitoring.

The charity Shropshire Rural Support had approached the Public Health team with serious concerns about mental health problems and high levels of suicide in the farming community, in addition to risks of physical health conditions going undetected or deteriorating.

“We’re here today at Shrewsbury Livestock Market to offer some blood pressure checks – but these also work as a door opener,” Hannah said.

“We’re always identifying cardiovascular risks, but this is also a great way to get the farming community to talk to us about their health and wellbeing. It really matters for this community, as they are not likely to come forward for help.”

It’s important for the outreach team to build relationships with farmers and gain trust. Monthly sessions at all the livestock markets in Shropshire allow them to invest the time needed, and to learn more about how they can bring services to farmers and help them with prevention and self-care.

Hannah continued, “Going forward, we would like to offer more clinical support on farmers’ doorsteps to fit around their work, especially during times like the lambing season – because their working lives and their long hours are not going to change.”

Watch interviews filmed at the Shrewsbury Livestock Market above.